


Love at First Sneeze

by queenofrulers, Thy_Undertaker



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abuse, Artist AU, Bullying, Explicit Language, Explicit Smut, High School AU, Homophobia, M/M, Nerdy!Eren, OC, Parental Abuse, Punk!Levi, Smut, Violence, fic: lafs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-05-12 07:10:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 84,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5657317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofrulers/pseuds/queenofrulers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thy_Undertaker/pseuds/Thy_Undertaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Highschool AU in which Levi is the scariest kid in school, a senior covered in various piercings, tattoos, and with a look that could kill, and Eren is the nerdy junior who keeps to himself that people tend to steer clear of beyond his small group of friends.</p><p>After being forced to sit next to one another in their English class, the air of awkward and hostile tension begins to turn into something a little more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, so this is a fic created by Thy_Undertaker and queenofrulers through roleplaying! It was a lot of fun to make and we hope you enjoy our first ereri collab!  
> Levi: rped by Thy_Undertaker  
> Eren: rped by queen of rulers  
> all other characters were roleplayed by both of us jointly.

Levi sighed as he walked down the hallway, twisting one of the earrings in his ears. He was easily bored in this place and only came because he would get expelled otherwise. Despite his thug-like appearance with all of his piercings and tattoos and his mean glare, he had no intention of dropping high school and was actually at the top of his class.  
  
But nobody else knew that.  
  
They were all scared of him and he knew that. He used it to his advantage to keep others away from him. He preferred to be alone, it was easier that way. He didn't like anyone else here with the exception of Hanji and Erwin. Fortunately, he didn't have much longer in this shit hole since he was a senior this year.  
  
Someone bumped into him, causing him to painfully pull on his earring and he glared down at the kid, his eyes dark, dangerous, and full of unspoken threats.

Eren wasn't the most popular in his class, or the school. He had a few friends that he hung around, mostly at the library, which was where he was just coming from. His best friend had suggested a book that he had just finished and Eren was already hooked, walking in the hallway as he read. People always tended to avoid him because of it as he made his way to his locker. He knew that if he kept the book with him, he wouldn't pay attention and his perfect grades would suffer.  
  
He didn't want that.  
  
As he turned the corner to his locker, he had the misfortune of running into someone and he fell to the ground, his book flying out of his hand. Eren adjusted his glasses and looked up, fear and panic making his blood run cold and his usually tan skin turn pale as he stared up at the most terrifying kid in the school.

 

His dark hooded gaze was fixed on the kid in front of him, splayed out on the floor like a dirty mop, looking up at him with wide eyes filled with fear. Good. "Oi, watch where you are going." Levi told the kid in a flat voice, uninterested in the boy, mostly annoyed. His ear hurt now and had turned red from the forced attempt to rip it out of his ear.

  
Eren opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but nothing happened. He was quick to grab his book and made his way to his feet. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." His voice was quiet, squeaky almost and he wanted to hit his head against the lockers at how small and weak he sounded.

 

Levi was not impressed with his feebleness either and gave an irritated huff. "Tch. Maybe if you get your shitty nose out of that book you'll be able to see where you are going." and with that, he left the boy standing there trembling in the middle of the hallway, breezing past him and gingerly touching his now sensitive red ear.

 

 _Wow, okay, rude._ Eren thought to himself and he looked over his shoulder one last time before walking over to his locker. He opened it and fixed his bookmark before placing it in and he grabbed his sketch book. At least he could hopefully forget about the whole incident that just happened in his next class. His favorite class.  
  
He slipped into the classroom after waving to a couple of his friends that passed by him in the hallway. Stopping, he noticed someone sitting in his seat and that's when he noticed the seating chart displayed from the projector. He sighed and made his way to the back of the room, but he was thankful that it was next to the window. He stared out of the window, studying the trees as they were beginning to turn colors due to the changing season and Eren pulled out his sketching pencil, flipping to a clean page.  
  
He heard the chair in front of him squeak and he looked up, fear returning to his body as his eyes fell upon the kid that he had bumped into in the hall. The one who looked like he was going to murder Eren.

 

Levi didn't pay any attention to the boy behind him, or anyone else around him for that matter. He didn't really care who was around him so long as they kept their nose out of his business. He tended to be very secretive about his art, most people didn't even realize he could draw as well as he did.  
  
In fact, he published comics anonymously in the school newspaper every other week. They were pretty popular and he found it funny how eagerly people read them when they were posted under an anonymous name. If anyone actually discovered he drew them, they would probably stop reading them, or they wouldn't believe it was him.  
  
Levi sighed as he looked out of the window, flipping through his own sketch book where he found a clean page and began sketching new character designs for new titans he planned to introduce into the comics here very soon. His fingers expertly flew across the page, making light lines precisely where he wanted them.

 

Eren watched as the boy didn't pay any attention to him, pulling out a notebook as he began to do something. Eren wasn't sure what, and he was finding himself a bit curious, but he also didn't want his head ripped off. He kept to his own business, watching in terrified amusement as someone sat next to the boy and he responded with what sounded as either a grunt or a growl.  
  
Eren wasn't really sure.  
  
"Okay, today is just going to be a work day," Eren's attention turned over to the teacher as she leaned in front of her desk with a clipboard in her hand. She looked up and down as she tried to find who was and wasn't present. "I hope you remember your individual projects I had assigned you last week. You could have taken it home and worked on it over the weekend, but I want you working on it today because I would like it done within this week so we can hopefully start our new unit."  
  
Eren smiled as he pulled out the flower he had done for his sketch. He stood up, walking over to the shading pencils, smiling at another familiar student.

 

Levi hardly glanced up from his work, but growled and shoved himself against the wall with the window as much as he could in order to avoid the other kids' wandering eyes. He was now turned towards the boy, using the bottom part of the desk to prop his leg up for his sketch book so he could not see. He was so intently focused on his work, it was as if there was little else that existed in the world.  
  
"Levi, did you hear my instructions?" The teacher asked suddenly. The short boy blinked, realizing the teacher had addressed him in front of the whole class. He was notorious in this class for ignoring instructions and doing what he wanted until the last moment unless the project actually interested him.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then please work on your _actual_ assignment and turn it in on time for once." She replied stiffly, sniffing before retreating behind her desk to allow the students time to work on their projects individually. Levi snorted. _As if_. He'd yet to find anything interesting for his project.

 

Eren looked over to see just who the teacher was talking about. It was the scary boy he had bumped into in the hallway. _Levi, huh?_ Eren had never actually knew his name. Just his face. He had to bit his lip at the teacher's last comment and he elbowed another student that snickered, his own playful smile on his face as well.  
  
Eren walked over to the teacher hesitantly, though he knew she liked him and his work. She always had. "Um, Mrs. Huber? I had a question about how exactly to shade this," she smiled up at him as he placed the drawing on her desk, her smile growing even more. He listened intently, nodding as she explained where she would go about things. "Thank you so much."  
  
"Anytime, Eren." He walked back to his desk, well aware of Levi's sharp gaze looking over at him as he left the teacher with a smile before looking back down at his hidden work.

 

Levi's attention had been drawn to a boy who was passing him for a moment, the same nerdy mop boy who had run into him just before this class. _So, he's in this class, too. I'm not surprised I didn't notice before._ He thought to himself, turning back to his own work.

He let out a triumphant huff as he finished his sketch of the newest titan that was to be introduced. He was quite pleased with his work and took out his calligraphy pen in order to line it and decide on some final details.

 

Eren stared at the drawing that sat on the desk. His head was swimming with what his teacher said, but he wasn't sure if he like it. This happened quite a bit with him and his works. He would be almost finished, when something popped up that stopped his whole process from continuing. It frustrated him. He was liking the way that it was turning out, but he didn't want to ruin it with the coloring or the shading.  
  
He usually didn't color his works anyways. Most of the time it was just black and white shade with sketched pencils, but one of the requirements was to add color. And he usually let his little seven-year-old sister, Mikasa, color them for him. She enjoyed it and he often liked the way it came out. Even for a child's work.  
  
He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair, sitting back in his chair.

Mrs. Huber, on the other hand, was well aware of the potential stored within two of her pupils, they had some of the best work she had ever seen from a student. Placing them so close together had not, in fact, been a coincidence of any kind. She saw something in each of them and knew that, even though their art styles were very different, they would be able to enhance each other’s abilities and strengths.  
  
"Levi, Eren, come see me for a moment." She said to the two boys, the entire class growing silent and turning in their seats to look back at the flabbergasted boys.  
  
Levi shot a glare at Eren before setting his drawing on the ledge of the window to keep it hidden, standing up he approached the teacher's desk with his pockets shoved into his hands, face drawn into its usual scowl. She sure was talkative today.

Eren jumped when his name was called, his face red as all eyes were on him and the boy he sat behind. He felt a little offended and confused when he caught the glare Levi had sent in his direction, and he stood up with wobbly legs. He caught the worried glance of another classmate he knew, Mina, and shrugged in fear.  
  
As he walked over to the desk, the class returning to its usual chatter and he fidgeted with his fingers, standing at least a foot or two away from Levi in precaution so that his head wouldn't be ripped off and placed on a spike. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong, he had just talked with the teacher not ten minutes ago. He eased a little at the smile she gave him and he adjusted his glasses with shaky fingers.

 

"Don't be nervous, neither of you are in trouble. I actually want you two to work together. You are both excellent artists and I believe you could learn a lot from one another. Eren, you need to work on your shading and coloring, while Levi, you need to work on collaborating. Sometimes an artist is forced into these situations." She told the two boys, watching their reactions carefully.  
  
Levi's scowled deepened at her words. "I really don't want to. Why should I have to work with this brat?" _I'll bet he can't even draw properly._ He grumbled silently to himself, annoyed.  
  
"This is not a request, but an assignment." She told them, flicking her fingers as if in dismissal.

 

"I know," Eren grumbled as she mentioned the work he needed on his shading. It hurt a bit, the bite Levi held in his words as he bluntly said no. He even flinched at the words he heard Levi mutter under his breath. Eren watched as Levi made his way back to his seat and he turned back to Mrs. Huber. "He doesn't even like me. I'm pretty sure he's going to rip my throat out and use it as a headband."  
  
She rolled her eyes, but gave an assuring smile to him. "Don't worry. This is a grade. More for him than it is for you. You could both use the collaboration skills." He nodded and walked back, stopping by Mina's table.  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "Well?"  
  
"She wants us to work together and collaborate because I have to work on my shading and he needs... I don't even know. He needs something." She sighed, patting his arm as a gesture of good luck, and he trudged his way back to his desk, silently dreading Levi's reaction when he sees Eren's picture. It's not the best he's done, but it's not the worst either.

 

His face was dark, obvious irritation itching at his skin and making his movements annoyed and frustrated. Now, he stared down at his partially finished titan with a scowl, hating every part of it. Suddenly, he had the desire to crumple the paper up and toss it in the wastebasket, but he knew that it was only his anger speaking. He barely looked up as Eren sat back down in his seat.  
  
"Give me your drawing after class and I'll look at it." He grumbled to the other boy, annoyed by the teacher's request, but she hadn't rally left him any choice. And she knew it. It was obvious by the pleased look on her face as she sat at her desk, doing whatever the hell she did at that thing all day. Levi wondered if she even drew anymore.

 

"Why don't I just give it to you now? Then you could actually do something productive during class," Eren muttered staring at the flower drawing. He had the urge to throw it away and restart, but he didn't have time for that. It took him nearly a week to make this and it was almost finished. He was just as irritated with himself as he was with the situation. And Levi being angry wasn't helping either.

 

His glare hardened even more, as if it were possible. "My time is none of your concern. I'm busy. Give it to me after class." He said, his voice strained with annoyance. If they were going to do this, it would be on his terms. Regardless of whatever the boy drew, he would treat the art fairly even if he hated the artist. He was a lover of art, it was the only thing that truly made him happy.

 

Eren rolled his eyes. "Whatever." His eyes flickered over to study the other boy who was hunched over and doing something with what looked to be a calligraphy pen. He became curious, but didn't ask about anything and instead called Mina over, who was happy to oblige, and they sat together as Eren helped her with her project.  
  
They shared a few jokes and laughed a little, the tension in Eren's brain and shoulders easing away as he helped her. Art was always something that calmed him, and when he found that he was a natural with it, it only helped even more. He took the pen, sketching in a part that she had forgotten and she groaned. It was going pretty good so far, Eren always liked her pop art designs. They were interesting. Not his style and he wanted to learn how to draw pop art or even cartoons.  
  
The bell rang and Eren quickly gathered his things before racing out of the room with his drawing in hand as he made his way to meet his friends.

Levi didn't even glance his way the entire class period, more focused on letting go of his anger so he could finish lining in his drawing. He stopped a few minutes before the bell rang to ensure the ink would dry before he closed the book. He looked up as it rang, expecting Eren to hand him the drawing, but instead catching sight of his back as he rushed out of the classroom.  
  
He scoffed and placed his sketchbook back in his bag. It must have been so shitty that he couldn't even show the senior boy. _What a loser._ He thought to himself before completely dismissing Eren in his mind and making his way to the cafeteria for lunch where he would spend his time drawing in the corner at an abandoned lunch table as opposed to actually eating.

 

Eren was breathless by the time he reached their meeting place, his friends giving him strange looks. "What's with you?" One asked and he looked up, holding up a finger before he took in a couple deep breaths and he stood up properly.  
  
"Well, in art, I was assigned to be partners with the scariest person on the face of the earth."  
  
"You mean Levi?"  
  
Eren's head whipped to look at Sasha as she dug around in her locker before pulling out her lunch and closing it softly. "Yeah, Marco talks about him all the time. They have advanced Chemistry together. Says he doesn't do anything in class and just sits in the back drawing in his little notebook."  
  
"Hey, kind of like you." Armin says with a laugh and Eren shoots him a pointed look.  
  
"Yeah, well, at least I actually do my work. I am one of the top students in our class. Next to you... and Marco. So, more like number three but whatever." They made their way to the cafeteria, being joined by Marco before sitting at their usual empty table. Eren grabbed the newspaper as he sat down, instantly flipping to the only part he cared about. The comics.

 

In fact, Levi was an excellent stupid. He was at the top with Erwin and Hanji, although she really excelled in science classes more than anything else. It only took a few minutes before the duo found where he was hiding in the corner by himself.  
  
"Bad day?" Hanji asked with a pout, scooting up next to him practically as close as she could possibly get.  
  
"Fuck off, four eyes." He muttered, quickly lifting his arm far from the paper to avoid smudging it from Hanji's hyperactive antics.  
  
"Ooh, someone is touchy today." came a deeper voice, Levi's gaze swiveled to see Erwin. Of course. These two were never far from each other these days.  
  
"What happened?" Hanji asked curiously, wrapping an arm around his neck. He elbowed her side and she withdrew, holding it with a gasp. "Ooh, we're feistier than usual today!" She cackled loudly and it echoed through the entire lunch room. He rolled his eyes and chose to ignore them.

 

Eren looked up when he heard a loud laugh from the back of the cafeteria. His eyes landed on a girl with a messy pony tail and glasses. She was familiar. He had seen her around school often. She was followed by a tall blond boy who Eren recognized as the president of the senior class, Erwin Smith. They had English together.  
  
But who they were sitting with baffled Eren. There sat Levi, the usual scowl on his face as they talked. He looked away before Levi could notice him staring and tuned back into the conversation his friends were having before being startled by a loud bang next to him. He jumped, squeaking a little when he heard the laughter of two familiar people.  
  
He swung behind him, hitting one in particular. "Fuck off guys. I'm not in the mood for idiots." Jean groaned at how hard Eren had hit him, sitting down next to Marco.

 

Levi looked up from his drawing at the squeaking sound, his eyes finding the source quickly. Tch. Of course it was that brat. He was popping up everywhere today, it was annoying. He returned to his drawing, listening to Hanji and Erwin bickering lightly on either side of him. They were usually like this these days.

 

Eren was thankful that it was the last class. It was his his other favorite for two reasons. His best friend, Armin, had the same class with him and their English teacher was one of the most laid back in the whole school. It was always something new each day. That was for sure.  
  
They were the first in the room, instantly noting the seating chart projected. Eren groaned. "Okay, I've already had one seating change today." He looked for his name, his heart sinking when he saw just who he was seated by. "Of course. Screw my life." He muttered and walked to the back couple of desks that were pressed together. They were the only ones too as the rest of the class was set in two columns, three desks in each row and walking path down the middle to their desks and the bookshelves off to the side.  
  
He sighed as he dragged himself to his new desk. That's when he realized that he’d forgotten to give Levi his drawing. Now would probably be as good a time as any. The only thing good that came out of it was that Armin sat only a couple rows in front of him.

 

Levi walked in just after Eren, dreading to look for his name as he spotted the new seating chart. Hopefully he wouldn't end up next to anyone too annoying or nosy. He squinted to find his name scribbled into one of the squares and his deep scowl returned. Of course.  
  
Of fucking course, he just had to sit next that shitty brat. He stalked over to his new desk, seating himself without word or even looking at Eren. He had no desire to speak to the brunette or acknowledge his presence at all. Instead he took out his sketchbook and began scribbling in it, using his backpack as a barrier between them. He had a feeling this boy was one of those nosy types.

 

Eren could feel a little hurt settle in his chest as Levi didn't even acknowledge him. He looked up at Armin who gave him a sympathetic look.  
  
"Mach dir keine Sorgen Eren. Er ist sowieso ein Trottel." [“Don't worry, Eren. He's a jerk anyways."]

Armin said in a reassuring tone and Eren sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. The bell sounded after a minute, Levi still not even sparing Eren a glance and he didn't bother trying to say anything at this point. He didn't care what Levi did and instead focused on what his teacher was saying.  
  
"So, in case you haven't noticed, you've gotten new seats," his teacher, Mr. Zacharius, said as he leaned against the white board. "So, I would like you to try and be social—that means you too Levi." Everyone looked back at the two of them, Eren's eyes widening as they looked back. Some murmured quietly, and Eren looked around to see that not only was Erwin in the class, but the other girl that was with Levi at lunch as well.

 

Levi spared no one, he froze at his drawing and looked up at the teacher with what seemed like a permanent glare present on his face. What in the ever-loving fuck? Did his teachers like get together and plan this shit?  
  
"Whatever," He replied flippantly, throwing his backpack on the floor beside him and instead using his own body as an awkward shield. He was an extremely private person and hated it when others looked at his artwork, especially before it was finished.  
  
Hanji leaned back in her chair and practically shouted. "Be nice, Levi, and I will buy you a new ink set!" She teased him, cackling as she knew that would draw Levi in. Ink sets were expensive, hell, all art supplies were expensive and he wasn't about to turn it down.  
  
"Tch." She smirked smugly as Levi made his signature noise, knowing it would work.

 

"Hanji, please. No outbursts." Mr. Z scolded. "I'll give you about five to ten minutes to get to know and learn something about your new partners before we continue on with the lesson. And please, leave social media out of it. I don't care if Karen has 1,500 followers on instagram. I want to know something a little more personal. Like how many cats she's had, okay?" The class nodded and he set a timer.  
  
Eren sat there for a moment. He contemplated what he should do. Levi wasn't even _facing_ him at this point. He took in a deep breath before tapping at Levi's shoulder. "Hey, uh, Levi?"

 

Levi tensed, gritting his teeth. He turned suddenly as if he was going to snap harshly, but his mouth didn't move as he remembered Hanji's words. _You better keep it, shitty four-eyes._ He thought before clenching his teeth together, letting out a deep breath to calm himself.  
  
"What is it?" He asked, doing his best to keep his annoyance out of his voice and try and make it sound pleased. It didn't sound like he hated him... but it also didn't come across the way he wanted to, and sounded just as strained as it felt. Ink sets, ink sets, ink sets... he reminded himself, almost creating a mantra out of it, as he waited for Eren's response.

 

Eren visibly flinched as Levi spun around quickly, his words tense and bitter. He immediately regretted his idea.  
  
He pulled his art project out of his backpack. "Uh, well, I forgot to give this to you after class, so I thought that now would be as good as time as any to give it to you." He looked down at it, suddenly very subconscious of his work. "Just please be gentle with it. The paper tends to rip easily."

 

Levi noticed his flinch and a small stab of guilt pinched him, but it quickly receded. There was no reason for him to feel guilty, he hasn't done anything. Not really.  
  
He glanced down at the page Eren handed him, taking it carefully in his long and slender fingers that were covered in dried ink he hadn't gotten the chance to wash off just yet. "Tch. As if I would rip a piece of art." He remarked, glancing down at it. His expression was neutral and emotionless as he looked it over.  
  
He was speechless. He had maybe been expecting a bunch of clumsy lines and horrible shading, probably smudging all over the page.  
  
That was not this. It was a beautiful flower, the lines were perfectly place and he could tell they were each drawn with such care, gentle and precise. His shading was a little off, but nothing compared to what Levi was expecting.  
  
"It's not bad." He remarked, which, for Levi, was as good as saying it was amazing. There was no malice or annoyance in his voice either. Without even thinking about it, he showed Eren a quick shading technique so it would look a little more natural. He wasn't the best at drawing realistic pictures, but the concepts of shading were still very similar.

 

He watched as Levi took the paper carefully and his hand flew up to chew at his nails. He searched Levi's face for any sort of expression, but to no avail.  
  
"Not bad," he heard the other boy remark and he let out an audible sigh of relief and watched as he showed him some shading techniques. How he was so good at shading, Eren would never know.  
  
He picked up his regular pencil, setting the drawing on his desk and copied the techniques Levi had shown him as quickly as he could. "I don't know why I never knew that. Does it look any better?" He asked hesitantly, sliding it over to Levi's desk. "I mean, it's not the worst thing I've done. But it's not the best."

 

If he hadn’t been working at keeping his face emotionless, his jaw would have dropped to the table. He had practically copied him exactly... That technique had taken Levi weeks to get down, and this brat had managed to imitate in less than 10 minutes. He decided to chalk it up to beginner's luck, not that the brat was a beginner because he obviously wasn't.  
  
"Now you know." He replied shortly, returning to his own sketchbook and forgetting what this time was actually allotted for as he didn't share anything about himself.

 

"So it does look better?" Eren asked, more to himself than Levi. He had seen the little look of shock on his face after showing him, but he regained his composure quickly and gone back to whatever it was that he was drawing. "This is the last thing, I promise. But at least tell me if you have a cat or something, so we don't get in trouble with Mr. Z for not talking." He didn't want to try and sound too annoying or persistent, but this was one of his best grades.  
  
And he intended to keep it that way.

 

"Their names are Isabel and Farlan." Levi responded as he continued to draw.  
  
They were fluffy little creatures. Isabel had fluffy brown and black fur and she was a hyper little creature, he had to be careful what he kept on his floor or in reach in his bedroom. Once, she'd spilled over an entire pot of ink all over his bedding and he had to buy new comforters.

Farlan was a pale orange cat who was a lazy cuddly creature that loved to curl up next to Levi's head while he slept. He was quite fond of his cats, more so than most people. They, on the other hand, were not fond of anyone beyond Levi himself.

 

"Aw, cute." Eren cooed slightly, but he didn't bother with telling Levi anything about himself, because if he wanted to know, then he would have asked. Eren did the same as Levi, working on the shading and he found himself smiling at how much better it looked now that it had learned those new techniques. He glanced over at Levi, catching a glimpse of little cartoon characters before the alarm went off, causing him to flinch.  
  
"Time's up kiddos." Mr. Z said as he scanned around the classroom. "Why don't we start in the back." Eren froze, meeting Armin's eyes. "Eren, what's something that you learned about Levi?"  
  
"U—uh," he couldn't help himself from stuttering. His class was terrifying. He and Armin were the only Juniors in a class full of Seniors. "He has two cats." Mr. Z looked genuinely surprised that Eren had something to share and he nodded. Eren sighed and leaned back in his chair, smiling a little at Armin.

 

Hanji's eyes beamed with pride as Eren shared this information. She was thoroughly surprised Levi had shared that, he was very personal and he absolutely adored his cats.  
  
"And what about you Levi?"  
  
Levi didn't bother looking up. "The kid's decent at drawing," was his response. The room practically fell dead silent at the sort-of compliment. He had never openly complimented anyone. Even Hanji was speechless for a moment. Only for a moment.  
  
"Leevvviii!" She squealed, practically jumping up and down in her seat, her eyes glittering with curiosity and the need to know what had impressed him enough to call Eren's drawings decent.  
  
"Eren, you have to show me your drawings sometime!" She exclaimed, Erwin barely managing to keep her in her seat by grabbing onto the back of her shirt with an exasperated sigh.

 

Eren went pale Levi’s words, his eyes widening as he looked at Armin who looked surprised himself. Mr. Z cleared his throat. "Thank you for sharing you two. Uh, how about you Jared?" He moved on to others and Eren sat completely silent and still. He was in shock still that Levi had given him a decent compliment.  
  
Finally releasing a breath, his snapped back to Mr. Z as he started the lesson, talking about a book and some questions and he sent them to do their own work. Eren plugged in his headphones as he began to work on the questions, texting Armin under his desk and he looked up in fear as Hanji practically jumped out of her seat, explaining to Erwin that she needed to sharpen her pencil and made her way towards them.  
  
He made sure to hide his drawing and keep his head down, turning his music off so that he could eavesdrop on their conversation.

 

Hanji slunk over and sat beside Levi's desk, grinning devilishly from ear to ear. "Soooooo... dish. What made you so impressed? You actually complimented someone!" Hanji squealed in a whisper, "My short baby is growing up!" She grabbed his arm in her excitement and he shot her a scowl, lifting his pen off of the page so his drawing didn't smudge. It was obvious he had plenty of practice with that after many ruined drawings, no thanks to her.  
  
"None of your business you shitty four eyes. And you owe me." He told her pointedly. She sighed heavily in disappointment. She was not going to let this go any time soon, however.  
  
"Alright, fine. Ooh, is that one of the new titans for next week’s comic?" She asked in excitement. Even she loved the comics that she knew Levi published every other week in the school newspaper. He nodded. Only Hanji, Erwin, and the art teacher knew he was the author of those.  
  
"Yes, now go back." He told her, annoyed, shoving his notebook away from her. Little did he know, his drawing was now visible to the boy who sat next to him. He itched his noise a little as it tickled.

 

Hanji was loud, even for whispering. Eren probably wasn't meant to hear every word, or even see the comic that was now completely visible. It was the ones from the newspaper. His heart started beating rapidly. He loved those comics. Some of them he even kept at home because they were so funny. And here was the boy who had published them anonymously. Eren almost wanted to say something and he removed his earbuds just as Hanji left, giving him a smile and ruffling his hair.  
  
He got a good look at the whole thing before Levi moved it back into his hidden territory. His paused whatever he was doing, reaching up to rub at his nose annoyingly and Eren watched him, intrigued for whatever reason. He wanted to see more of his drawings. Levi was fantastic at comics and cartoons.  
  
Eren bent over to grab an eraser from his backpack, when a quiet, kitten sounding sneeze came from someone in the room. It was cute sounding. But it wasn't Armin's even though it was similar. Eren shrugged it off, but when the sneeze came again, he caught sight of Levi's movements, telling Eren that it was Levi who had sneezed.  
  
There was no way that was Levi's sneeze.

 

A third sneeze escaped Levi and his pale cheeks turned a light pink. He hated it when he sneezed. It was always such a delicate and annoying sound and it always had a tendency to mess him up when he was working on something. He pinched his nose to avoid sneezing again, groaning a little, his cheeks still a light shade of pink. He didn't notice the boy next to him staring at him in awe.

 

"Holy cheese balls, your sneeze is so cute." Eren admitted, slapping a hand over his mouth in an instant. But he couldn't stop himself form staring at the pink tint on Levi's cheeks and the own making its way to his face.

 _Did I_ seriously _just say that out loud?_

 

Levi's cheeks turned a deeper pink shade and he turned away to try and hide his blush from the boy. "What sneeze?" He said in a flat tone, embarrassment coursing through him.

 _Shit._ He'd heard. He hated it when people heard his sneeze, plus Hanji was staring at the two of them like a starving wolf. _Fuck_.

 

Eren caught the look of embarrassment on his face, but didn't push the matter. "Oh, maybe it wasn't you. Must have been someone else. I'm sorry," he said with a small smile and returned to his work, looking down at the text from Armin.

 

Levi huffed and wished he could disappear right then. This was just awesome. Well, at least he didn't know that Levi was the author of those comics. That information was something he preferred to keep a secret from the world.

 

Eren and Armin made their way to the art classroom so that he could turn in his flower that he had finished during English.

  
  
"That was a bit surprising," Armin said after a moment. "Levi complimenting you on your art." Eren shrugged. "I mean, isn't that a good thing that he kind of like it? I think it should be. I mean, you didn't win that contest because you were bad."  
  
Eren glanced at the picture before at his friend. "Well, decent is different than bad, which is different than good." Armin rolled his eyes and followed Eren as they entered the room. "Mrs. Huber? I finished my drawing." He walked over to her desk, handing it to her and she smiled.  
  
"Eren, this is beautiful. The shading is much better."  
  
He smiled shyly. "Oh, uh, thank you. Levi showed me how to shade it." She looked up, surprise etching across her face.  
  
"Did he now?" There was a smile playing on her face. "Well it's wonderful. Great job."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It isn't always fun or easy to get to know your new seating partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of the people who have commented/left kudos! It really means a lot, we weren't expecting such great feedback and it is really encouraging!  
> This fic will be updated every Friday, we already have the next few chapters ready as well :3

Levi rolled over in his sleep, oblivious to the person crawling in through his window. It wasn't until they turned on the light and practically jumped him that he woke up.  
  
"What the fuck, Hanji. I wish you would stop doing that and use the front door like a normal person. It's like..." He paused, grabbing his phone to look at time and groaned, rolling over in his bed and stuffing a pillow over his head. "It's fucking 5am you shitty four eyes." He said, although his words were muffled. He hated her little wake up calls. He'd only gone to bed like two hours previously and preferred sleeping until 7.

 

She tumbled into his bedroom with a crash, jumping up just as quickly before shutting the window and walked over to his bed, ripping the pillow from his face. He glowered at her as she stared down at him with a large smile and held the pillow out of his reach until he sat up.  
  
"We have too much to talk about, and besides," she held up a paper brown bag in one had. "I brought you breakfast," he rubbed at his eyes with the heel of one hand, moving up in his bed so she had a place to sit, "and your inks and shit. I mean, I didn't know what kind you used because I forgot. So I got you a new set, some ink and like hella fancy paper." He took more interest in the plastic bag than the one with food in it.  
  
He rummaged through it. "Not bad."  
  
"You want a donut?" She asked, her mouth full of a large bite she had taken from one and he squinted his eyes at her before shaking his head.  
  
"Don't talk with your mouth open." He snapped and she rolled her eyes. He stretched his arms above his head before moving his stuff to the bedside table. "What exactly did you want to talk about at fucking five in the god damn morning?"

 

She gave a wide grin, her eyes large behind her square glasses. "I just came by to bring you breakfast and the stuff I'd promised you." Levi raised an eye. He totally was not buying it. Not in the slightest. He knew her better than that. A lot better than that. "And?" He asked, knowing that there was supposed to be an “and” tacked on to the end of there. He knew she wanted to ask him something, she never brought him his favorite donuts unless she wanted to know something. He took one and bit into it, motioning for her to go on.  
  
"And boys, I wanted to talk boys. More specifically... I wanted to talk Eren." She mused, her eyes bright as she scooted even closer to him, filling her mouth with more donuts. "phill va bens." She mumbled around the enormous mouthful and Levi scowled as food fell out of her mouth.  
  
"That's fucking disgusting. You are doing my laundry after school today." he told her in disgust. "There isn't anything to tell. He's some shitty brat I sit next to." he told her with a shrug.  
  
"Awwwww, come on there has to be more! You even complimented him and you guys were getting all chummy and..." She squealed, Levi tuned out right about there and rolled his eyes, munching on his own donuts.  
  
"... right, right?" She finally ended, looking at him expectantly, but then frowned as she realized he hadn't been listening to a word she'd said. "At least admit he isn't so bad, at least his art work." Levi couldn't help but smirk a little behind his donut. _He really isn't so bad._  
  
"Butt out."

 

* * *

 

Eren sighed as he got out of bed at the most unholy hour of the morning. Well, it wasn't that early. But early enough that he wanted to stay in bed and sleep.  
  
He padded down the hallway and into the kitchen, noticing the note that was taped on the refrigerator from his mother. She had an early shift that morning and his father had been called in at the hospital so he wouldn't be home until after they were at school. He sighed, but was thankful that she had made him and his sister breakfast. He warmed up some of his own on a plate, eating in the silence of the house before cleaning his plate off and getting dressed.  
  
It was seven once he was done with everything and he walked into his sister's room, flicking on her light. "Mikasa," she stirred slightly, opening her eyes to look at him and he smiled. "C'mon, you gotta get up for school. Mom made breakfast and it's waiting in the kitchen." She nodded, moving her blankets off of her and left the room while she dressed in the clothes that had been laid out. He loved her more than anything in the world. If she was sick, he would stay home to watch her. If her daycare had been cancelled, he would stay home. He would do anything for her, to make her happy and give her a childhood he didn't really have.

 

Mikasa grumbled a little but did as her brother said and got out of bed, teetering into the kitchen to look for the food left by their mother. She preferred Eren's cooking though. She generally preferred to be with her older brother as opposed to anyone else, including their parents.  
  
A knock came from the door and it opened, a blonde head peeking through. He smiled, stepping through the door. "Morning, Mikasa. Is Eren still here?" He asked, she nodded and the boy stepped through the house to find Eren.

 

"Okay, you're seriously early." Eren said as he watched Mikasa walk in with Armin and she hopped up on the bar stool, eating her food again. "Why are you here so early?" He asked as he washed his hands and Armin shrugged, setting his things on the counter next to Mikasa.  
  
"Grandpa kicked me out early because he got his time mixed up so I just came here." Mikasa finished with her food, handing the plate to Eren before climbing down from the chair and into the bathroom to brush her teeth. "How much sleep did you get?" He asked after Eren yawned. Eren waved him off, walking to his room to grab his own backpack and Mikasa's from her room before out into the living.  
  
He helped her into her coat before they left the house, Eren locking the door behind him. He yawned again, watching as she skipped over lines on the sidewalk on the way to her daycare. She hugged his legs, waving goodbye as she ran to the daycare worker and she waved at Eren as he watched them walk inside.

Armin looked at him with a serious expression. "It doesn't look like it to me." He remarked, but left it at that.

  
"So, did you wash your pants after yesterday? You sure did look terrified most of the day." He said, only partially sarcastic. Eren sure had a lot of run-ins with that Levi guy yesterday. He sure didn't look like someone Armin wanted to tangle with, that was for sure.

"Ha, funny. Please, go on." Eren remarked as they entered the building. "I'm just... not as terrified today, I guess you could say."  
  
Armin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why's that?" They stopped at Eren's locker and he turned to him with a wide eyed expression. "What? Am I missing something?"  
  
"Did you not hear his sneeze?"  
  
" _What?_ " Armin asked, not a bit concerned for his friend's lack of sleep.  
  
Eren opened his locker, turning his small smile away from his friend. "His sneeze is cute as shit, okay. Sounds like a kitten." He grabbed his books and shut his locker a little too forcefully, making Armin jump a little. "It's not fucking okay." They made their way to the library, Eren easily changing the subject away from Levi and his cute sneeze.

* * *

Levi had managed to get Hanji to shut up eventually and they tiptoed through his house quietly so as to not wake Levi's father. He was an alcoholic and not the type of man to wake up well so early in the morning.  
  
They met up with Erwin before school and talked for a while-which mostly consisted of Levi drawing quietly by himself while Erwin and Hanji bickered over who their English teacher, Mike Zacharius, liked more.  
  
The beginning of his day was pretty uneventful. Then art came around and he drew in a steely breath as he walked through the door to find his seat.

 

His first three classes, Eren couldn't focus much on anything, which was rare. And seeing that he shared most of his classes with his closest friends, they were a bit worried but he shrugged them off. Usually, if he weren't paying attention, it would be because he was drawing or sketching something, but he wasn't during this time. He wasn't reading either, which raised many questions from his friends.  
  
"Seriously guys, I'm fine. I don't see what you're getting so worked up over. I had good sleep, I'm fine. Nothing emotional traumatizing happened in my life over these past like twelve hours. Can't a guy space out and think?"  
  
"No." Sasha, Armin, and Marco all answered together as they walked down the hallway. "You never space out." Sasha prompted.  
  
"Which gives us reason to believe that something happened." Marco continued. Eren sighed and waved them off once again. He didn't really get much sleep the night before if he was completely honest. He had stayed up with homework, which didn't take long, but then he went over every single comic from the newspaper that he had kept since his freshman year when they started producing them. He still couldn't believe that it was Levi. The boy who was small, but terrifying, but he had a cute sneeze.  
  
"I'll talk to you guys at lunch." He waved to them, biting back a smile as he entered the art classroom.

 

Levi sat the same way he had before with his leg propped up so his sketch book was hidden. Today, he had coloring utensils in a long line on his desk so he could pick at them with ease. He was only designing a few new characters, but he liked to color them as well to get a good feel for them.  
  
For once, Levi actually looked up as Eren sat down. He regarded him for a moment, slightly curious about the boy. He'd thought about the boy's drawing quite a bit the previous night, his precision and something about the style... it tickled the edges of his mind and reminded him of something else he had seen... but he couldn't remember what exactly.  
  
"Did you finish?" He asked, actually initiating conversation. He was curious what the drawing had looked like in its final stages as he had picked up Levi's technique quicker than he thought possible.

 

Even was surprised to find that Levi had actually started a conversation with him and he smiled at Levi as he sat his things down. He nodded. "Yeah, actually. I finished during English yesterday after finishing the book questions. I had finished the book, so it was easy to do the questions."  
  
He walked over to Mina, giving her a smile and asking her how she was before making his way to Mrs. Huber who had finished grading his picture. She handed it back with a smile and he thanked her, looking over the rubric that she had used for grading it and he made his way back to Levi with an even bigger smile.  
  
"You can look at it if you want."

 

He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod and took the piece of art from Eren with careful fingers, raking his eyes over the smallest details and taking it all in with masked enthusiasm. It was beautiful, and even better than he remembered it. But something still tickled at the edges of his mind. It reminded him of something... but he couldn't think what exactly.  
  
"Aren't you going to color it?" He asked, looking up at the boy. Levi himself preferred coloring all of his art. It just didn't look... complete without it in his personal opinion.

 

Even rubbed at the back of his neck shyly as he sat down, looking at Levi with a small, almost embarrassed smile. "I don't usually color my flowers. I can rarely ever make look good. It's weird. I mean, everything else, is practically golden. All but flowers. The shading always ends up really off and I can't ever decide on a color." He stopped, realizing he was rambling and he studied Levi's face as he looked over the drawing before noticing the colored pencils on his desk.  
  
"You..." He paused. "Well, if you wanted to, it's already finished and graded, if you'd like to... You can color it."

 

He considered the offer for a moment, staring at the flower. He had plenty on his plate right now but... it was tempting. He wanted to bring it to life. Levi thought it a shame to leave it as it is without any color.  
  
Without a word, Levi closed his sketchbook and set the picture on top of it. He picked up one of his coloring tools and began working it and filling in the lines expertly, his grey eyes fixed closely on the page before him. Sometimes his hands moved fast, sometimes they moved slow, occasionally he would use his fingers to blend the colors a bit, following the shading but his own unique image planted into his coloring technique. It would not be like any flower Eren had ever seen before.

 

Eren couldn't help the large grin that plastered to his face as he watched Levi take his offer. He couldn't help but watch Levi's expert fingers go to work at bringing it color. He hoped Levi didn't mind him watching because for some reason, it intrigued Eren, watching the way Levi's hands worked compared to his own.  
  
He was fascinated to say the least. He watched hundreds upon hundreds of videos on drawing, shading, painting, you name it. All different styles with different fingers and hands but Levi's, he found, he liked the most.

 

Levi's face was relaxed, but his eyes were fixated in concentration, that concentration never breaking, even under Eren's curious and awed gaze. He worked on coloring it in for the entire period, surprised when the bell marked the end of class. He had been so intent and focused on his work, he hadn't realized what time it was.  
  
"Can I finish this?" He asked, looking up at Eren with an eyebrow raised. He didn't want him to see it just yet. He wanted the image on the page to be a surprise.

 

While Levi colored the flower, Eren went to drawing on his own. He didn't have anything else to do in the class since the project was already finished. He found five minutes later that the person he had begun to draw was Levi as he was coloring in Eren's flower. He stared at the outline of the picture before back at Levi, burning the image into his mind as he went back to his sketch.  
  
He was in the zone when the bell rang, making him jump out of his daze and turn to Levi who had asked him a question. Eren stared at him for a moment, looking at his change in facial expression before quickly snapping his notebook closed so that Levi didn't kill him for drawing him.  
  
"Yeah, sure. If you really want to. I don't mind at all."

 

Levi just nodded, carefully slipping the drawing into his sketchbook and packing away all of his supplies. He swung the bag over his shoulder and twisted one of the rings in his lip. "I'll give it back to you tomorrow." And with that, he walked out of the classroom and headed to lunch, continuing to twist absently at his piercings. It was a habit he had developed by the time he'd gotten his second or third piercing, he couldn't remember which anymore.

 

* * *

 

Eren couldn't keep the stupid smile off of his face as he made his way to his friends, all of them giving him just as concerned looks then as in the morning. "Can I not be in a good mood either?" He defended and they shared glances before saying nothing as they made their way to the lunch room.  
  
Eren didn't even bother with eating, he wasn't that hungry anyways and he could eat in his last two classes. He sat in the same spot as yesterday, getting a clear, but creepy view of Levi as he sat at the table with his obnoxiously loud friends. Pulling out his notebook, he went to work on finishing the sketch he had started previously, tuning out his friends as he focused on Levi and his fingers.

Levi had returned to working on his own sketches again as opposed to working on Eren's drawing. He would rather avoid Hanji's persistent gaze. He knew she would be watching him closely, it was rare that she practically scaled his house in order to climb through his window and into his bedroom these days.  
  
It didn't take the pair much longer to join him, Erwin had brought Levi some apples to take home. Green ones as they were his favorite. He pulled one of them out, rubbing it on his shirt before taking a bite, an almost pleased expression flickering across his face at the satisfying crunch. He loved apples.

Eren was now staring at the drawing, realizing just how creepy he was being. Levi didn't like him and yet here he was, drawing Levi from the way he looked earlier during art class. He groaned internally before resting his head on the table with another groan. He closed his notebook, listening to his friend’s ramble on during lunch and even through his next period until it was time for English.  
  
For whatever reason, he wasn't looking forward to it simply because he was still bashing on himself for being creepy. But another part of him was looking forward to it, hoping that it would be a little more eventful than yesterday.

* * *

 

After lunch, Levi sort of moseyed through his next class and continued working on coloring in Eren's drawing for most of his time. He was highly pleased with the way it was turning out as well.  
  
Levi walked into English and sat down, wondering how he should finish the flower. He hadn't taken his sketchbook out yet and sat there, rummaging in his bag and taking out another one of the green apples Erwin had brought him.

 

Eren didn't notice when Levi came into the classroom, only knowing when Armin nudged his side and tilted his head in the direction of Levi. He wasn't doing anything. Simply sat there with a green apple as he stared at his desk, a look of concentration on his face. Eren shrugged and walked back over to his desk as the bell rang, sitting down at his seat.  
  
"Okay, so today..." He tuned out Mr. Z's voice as he talked about the questions they were supposed to have finished and Eren was already done. Instead he grabbed his sketchbook and pencils, not very discreetly trying to hide the view from Levi in a way that he could sneak glances at him to try and finish the first one.

 

Levi just sat there, munching on his apple. He noticed Eren shooting him glances a couple of times and he couldn't help but peer at him a little curiously from the corner of his eye. He could see just the faintest outlines of a drawing, but he couldn't really tell what it was. He shrugged and continued to pretend that he was listening to the teacher.

 

Eren made sure to have his answers and the book out on his desk to look like he was doing something as he zoned out on the sketch that was practically finished. He liked the way it was coming out, just needed a little shading.  
  
"Eren." The loud voice of his teacher snapped him out of his daze, causing him to smudge.  
  
"Scheiße." He muttered, catching his notebook before it fell out his lap and he looked up with a red embarrassed face, Mr. Z's gaze hard and stern. "Sorry, what was the question?"  
  
"Make sure you're paying attention next time." He said as a warning and went back to teaching, Armin's gaze lingering on Eren's before turning around. Eren's groaned, sitting back in his seat as he looked down to hide his red face.

 

Levi shot Eren a curious glance. "You're secretive today." He mused quietly, his steely grey as glinting as he watched the brunette draw beside him. Levi had noticed a large change in the boy's demeanor as well. Yesterday, he had been practically terrified and trembled at the sight of the short senior. Today, he was like a completely different person.

 

Eren smiled down at the drawing before turning his head to look at Levi. He shrugged. "And you're usually not?" He quipped lightly, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It probably wasn't smart to tease Levi, the guy who could probably kill snakes with his glares, but Eren didn't it anyways.

 

He shrugged. "I am, but you aren't." He replied simply, his hooded grey gaze regarding Eren curiously, tipping back in his chair and twisting one of the rings in his lip before taking another measured bite of the apple he'd been eating since class started.

"Well, uh," Eren didn't really have a reply for why he was hiding his work. "It's not finished yet?" It came out as more of a question than anything. "Doesn't Mr. Z have a no eating in class policy? And how in the holy _hell_ do you eat with those?" He pointed in regards to the lip piercings curiosity. He had never met someone with as many piercings as Levi did. It was interesting.

He shrugged. "I’ve had them for so long, it’s weirder to take them out." He admitted. He had started getting into some bad stuff way back in middle school and he had just thought it would make him look scarier if he had some piercings and he started doing them himself. Little did he know, he actually came to love them and always wanted more. Right now, he was leaning towards getting a tongue piercing. Well, more than leaning. He was saving up the money he earned at his weekend job to get it, because that was definitely a piercing he wasn’t doing by himself.

Eren stared at him, trying to imagine Levi without all his scary piercings. He could draw Levi without them of course, but it wouldn't have the same effect. Levi had a certain complexion with his skin that you couldn't quite get the entire effect of it just from paper, even if the paper was as pale as his skin. Eren wanted to see Levi without them, but it was a long shot for that to even happen.  
  
This was probably their longest conversation.  
  
"Just _how_ long though? I'm really curious."

 

"Six, maybe seven years?" He mused, sucking in a breath quietly. He couldn't imagine _not_ having them, now anyways. It would be like being able to tear off your own skin, he didn't like it and had no desire to take them out. Sure, he did sometimes but avoided taking them out as much as physically possibly. Half the time, he didn't even bother taking them out to sleep. More often than not he fell asleep at his desk while sketching.

 

"Jesus. My sister isn't even that old. Doesn't it hurt though? Like, do you never get stabbed by them or they never get infected?" Eren was just so full of questions by now, but he needed to keep them at a minimum so he didn't make Levi mad. He seemed to be in a decent mood if he was actually talking to Eren for once, and now that Mr. Z had finished with the review, he wouldn't get in trouble again.

 

"Tch. As if I would let myself get dirty enough to get an infection. Fuck no." He snorted, setting the apple core carefully on his desk and reaching into his bag and pulling out a small package of sanitary wipes he uses to wipe his hands off and clean the sticky apple juices off of his hands.

 

Eren snorted, biting his hand as he tried to stifle a laugh but it didn't work as he let out a laugh and turned away from Levi so that he would get kicked in the back rather than the face. "You... you carry," he paused between laughter. "You carry fucking _sanitary_ wipes. _Oh my god._ " Eren laid his forehead on the table, laughing a little more before turning his head ever so slightly to look at Levi through the corner of his eye.

 

Levi arched an eyebrow and paused his cleaning motions with the wipes. "What are you laughing at?" He grumbled. "I'm surprised you even know what they are you shitty little brat." he looked down at his fingers and continued cleaning them, making sure he did a thorough job so nothing would be left behind. He hated it when his hands got dirty.

 

"Well, Levi," Eren said matter-of-factly and he sat up, crossing one leg over the other as he looked at the other boy. "There are numerous things I am laughing at. Most of them having to deal with you, obviously. Like the fact that you carry around cleaning wipes, and that you love to be clean but yet, you refer to everything as shit?" Eren couldn't hold back the laugh at the end of the sentence and gave a quizzical look to Levi.

 

He didn't answer until he finished cleaning himself off. "That's because everything is dirty." He replied simply, as an answer to the entire statement itself. Levi just couldn't stand for anything to get dirty. In a way, he was almost overly obsessed with cleanliness sometimes.

 

Eren took in a breath, exhaling it as a sigh. "And yet you're an _artist_? Have you ever painted? And don't you use your fingers for shading?" Eren was thoroughly confused, holding a hand up in mid-air as he squinted his eyes at Levi. "What even?"

 

Levi shrugged his shoulders. "Of course I do. The point is that you then clean up. Thoroughly." He scoffed as if that were the most obvious answer. Finally, Levi finished cleaning his desk to his satisfaction and stood, dropping both the used wipes and apple core into the trash can before slumping back to his seat.

 

Eren sighed and opened his sketch book to a clean page. "Whatever," he muttered with a shake of his head, flipping his notebook open to the sketch of Levi from art class that he still had yet to finish. And he didn't have an eraser to fix the smudge Mr. Z had caused from earlier in class. He stood up, not thinking about closing his notebook for whatever reason. He was only walking two feet away to grab an eraser from Armin.

Levi wasn't a nosy person, in fact he didn't care about anyone elses personal business and he wanted to keep it that way. However, when Eren stood up and left his sketchbook open on his desk, Levi couldn't help but sneak a peek. He was curious as to what he was drawing, and his jaw dropped a little. Eren was drawing... him? Really? Why Levi of all people?

"You just need to buy your own," Armin said to him as he handed his eraser to Eren once again. Eren shrugged. He probably should but he always forgot and lost his own somewhere with all his other art supplies in his room. He made his way back to his desk, leaning down to erase the smudge and some extra lines that he didn't need. He grabbed the pencil that was laying off to the side and fixed his hair, some details on Levi's face before signing something at the bottom, not noticing Levi's eyes watching his every move. He walked back over to Armin with a smile, thanking him.

 

Levi never once took his eyes off of the brunette, watching him even as he did a shitty job of trying to hide his drawing. "So, what are you drawing?" He mused, lips tilted up into a smirk. It was so obvious that he knew, but he was making it obvious on purpose. It was kind of fascinating, the way Eren had portrayed him on paper. Not scary so much as bored. Indifferent.

Eren had been so transfixed on his drawing, he forgot that Levi was sitting next to him and he was quick to flip to a different page where there was a drawing of Mikasa. His face was red and he knew it. He cursed at himself in both German and English for not hiding it better because he didn't want to have to explain to Levi what he was drawing.  
  
"U—uh, nothing. What are _you_ drawing?" He tried steering the question back to Levi as he twisted his body so the notebook wouldn't be visible and he shut it slowly.

 

Levi glanced down at the empty desk before him. "Nothing at the moment." He mused, leaning forward and propping his head up on the desk with his elbow, resting his head in his hands. Their faces were now level and quite close. "Besides, I already know what I'm drawing. I'm more interested in _your_ drawing." there was a small smirk on his face. "I must say, that one sitting on your desk a few moments ago was _quite_ interesting."

 

Eren was speechless, Levi's face almost too close to his. His heart was racing and he wanted to know why. Levi's eyes looked even more enticing up close and he had a better feel of how they looked. He tried to say something, nothing but stutters coming out. "I—I don't know what you're talking about. I—I was, uh, um, drawing—sketching my sister. If you find that interesting enough." Levi didn't look amused and Eren sighed before moving away slightly and pulled his notebook out from behind him before flipping to the page of the finished sketch.  
  
"I'm sorry, I know it's creepy." He turned the book for Levi to look at, all the blood rushed to his face. "Please don't hit me."

 

He shrugged and took the notebook off of Eren's desk, gazing at it for a few moments before handing it back. "I don't really care. I'll bet you have sketches of random people you don't even know in there. I've noticed a lot of realistic artists do that." He explained. It had been amusing to watch him get all flustered and worked up over a drawing, though. He'd never seen anyone act so embarrassed by a mere drawing like that.

 

Eren has drawn random people before, but never has he ever kept it. It always ended in the trash. Levi was a rare occasion where he _liked_ drawing the other boy. It was strange, and Eren felt weird for it, but he would never admit to that. "Sure," he said weakly and close the notebook. "Let's just go with that."

 

Levi arched his eyebrow again as he regarded Eren carefully with that hooded and calculating gaze of his, not taking his eyes off of the brunette for a long period of time before finally pulling out some paper and sketching some random characters. They weren't for his comics and they really didn't mean anything, it was more for something to do than anything else, really.

 

"Wait, so not that you've seen that, you have to show me one of your drawings, or comics. Whatever it is you do." Eren didn't want to make it sound too obvious that he knew. Levi would most certainly do something illegal to him and Eren preferred to live.

 

Levi ignored him, or so it seemed. Rather, he was drawing Erwin and Hanji as chibi characters. It only took him a few minutes to finish a basic sketch and he held it up lazily for Eren to see. "Happy?" He mused. It was a loop hole that was easy for Levi. Eren never said he wanted to see one that was finished. After all, the drawing of Levi hadn't been completely finished either.

 

"Yeah, but at least give me something that wasn't a quick sketch." Eren said through a huff. He took the paper to look at it more closely. "This looks familiar, though. Where have I seen this before?"

 

Levi panicked a little at Eren's words and quickly snatched it back, stuffing it deep into the open backpack at his feet. "Maybe another time, kid." He said gruffly, looking away. That had been a close one. There was a reason he was very secretive about his artwork, he'd almost forgotten about it. He needed to be more careful, this kid probably read the comics he published regularly.

 

"Aw," Eren sighed. "I liked it though. Rude." He huffed but he knew exactly where he knew Levi's drawings from. He wanted Levi to admit it himself rather than Eren outright telling him what he knew. He glanced at Levi one last time before standing up and walking over to the small basket where he knew Mr. Z kept the newspaper. He grabbed the newest one and sat back down, pretending to mindlessly read it until he got to the comics. He laughed at the joke he had reread over seven times. "Have you read the school's comics before?" Eren asked, a little smirk on his face. "They're just so great."

 

Levi shrugged, appearing calm and cool on the outside, but on the inside he could practically hear his heartbeat and his hands began to feel cold and a little clammy. "I can't say I have. I've never really felt like picking up a copy." He lied smoothly, but his mouth felt dry and as if his tongue were sticking to the roof of his mouth. Was it possible the brat actually read his work and had recognized his style simply from that little sketch? Was that even possible? He wasn't even sure anymore but he really hoped Eren wasn't on to anything.

 

Eren gasped in faked innocence. "Really? How can you not? Everyone in the school has to have read it. And the art style is just amazing, the characters are drawn perfectly. This person must really know what they're doing," Eren turned with a cheeky grin. "Wouldn't ya’ say? Just give it a read." He slid the comic in front of Levi.

 

Without even hesitating or thinking, Levi grabbed the paper that had been slid in front of him, crumpled it in his palm, leaned back in his chair, and tossed it into the garbage can. "Not anymore." He said in a flat tone. A piece of him couldn't believe he'd done that. He totally just defamed his _own_ artwork in front of one of his many fans. How stupid could he get? He should have least pretended to be interested.

 

Eren watched, jaw dropped and before he knew it, he was laughing at Levi's actions towards his own work. Eren couldn't be bothered to feel any guilt at the moment because he had successfully gained a reaction from Levi.  
  
He was probably pushing his limits with the next thing he was about to say, so it was a good thing that the bell was about to ring. He stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder with an amused smirk. "I'm pretty sure I wouldn't crumple up my own piece of artwork like you just did, but, you know, to each their own." He patted Levi's shoulder and walked out of the door with Armin as the bell rang, quick to get lost in the sea of students for extra precautions.

Levi sat frozen, shocked. How did Eren even know? He sounded so fucking sure of himself too! He groaned a little to himself, zipping his backpack fiercely as he stood, ignoring Hanji and Erwin as they began peppering him with questions. He left with his trademark scowl and a huff. Where did that little shit even find out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment with any feedback/kudos if you enjoyed it!
> 
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	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is just having a really bad day. We also get a little sneak peak into Levi's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: This chapter includes bullying and mentions of abuse, there is abuse later in the story as well. If you are uncomfortable with these or these are a trigger for you, then this may not be a fic for you. I have updated the tags but this is a special warning.
> 
> Wow, the feedback so far has been amazing and it has really gotten us pumped! Thank you so much for every kudo, comment, and bookmark, they all mean so much to us!

Eren knew that it was a stupid idea to arrive to school before his friends. He went home on a high note after successfully freaking Levi out and he didn't have any homework since all of it had been completed. It was a good day. But it didn't seem like that would be the case with today. He whimpered as he was pushed against the lockers, his back arching from stabbing into the hinges. The much taller boy smirked at him, saying something that Eren didn't care to listen to as he struggled to get away from him. But it wasn't in his favor. Two against one.   
  
"Reiner, save some of him for tomorrow." The even taller boy said. "If you leave enough marks then he'll snitch."  
  
"Please," his hand slammed into the locker next to Eren's head and he flinched away from it. "You wouldn't snitch on your upperclassmen, now would you?" He asked and Eren shook his head vigorously in hopes it would allow the other boys to leave him alone. "Good." He snarled and shoved Eren harshly, making him stumble as he fell to the ground. They walked away laughing and Eren sighed, tears welling in his eyes as he touched the lip that his teeth bit into from the fall. He was going to need ice for that.

 

Levi walked through the front doors with a darker scowl than usual. He'd stayed up wondering when Eren could have possibly figured out that he was the author of those comics, and had come up empty. Those sketches weren't enough to be so sure of it so quickly, there was no possible way. Not only that, but Levi had been very careful to conceal his sketchbook from the world. Hanji slapped his back, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
"Stop worrying about it, nobody actually cares. And, who knows, maybe if it came out that you were the author people might actually... oh, I don't know, like you?" She suggested. Erwin sighed, knowing it was pointless.  
  
"Shut up, fucking four-eyes." He growled, walking ahead of the duo.

 

Eren had avoided his friends for most of the morning by crying in the bathroom in the nurse's office. He thought he would be able to make it without crying, but it didn't work that well. He fixed his hair and his clothes, wiping his eyes and he made sure to take a couple deep breaths before leaving. He had made it through his first hour and halfway through his second period before he was sent to the nurse for their study period. The nurse gave him a concerned look and he lied, saying he fell and hit his face on the locker.   
  
Half of it was only a lie and she handed him an ice pack. He went back before art since the other had melted and she wanted to check up on his wound. It sucked, and was very obvious. He earned many looks as he walked down the hall with it, throwing away the ice pack before entering art. He was one of the first ones in the classroom.   
  
Approaching his desk, he set his stuff down before folding his arms and hiding his face.

 

Levi was already in the class and was finishing up some final touches to Eren's drawing that he had been coloring since this time yesterday. He glanced up as Eren came in, bloody lipped and all and sunk into his desk. Levi frowned, his anger with the boy suddenly dissipating. How could he be mad at someone who looked so defeated? He just couldn't.  
  
He remained silent until about halfway through the period when he finished. "Eren." He said aloud finally in order to get the boy's attention.

 

Eren sniffled, freezing when he heard Levi call his name. He didn't want to face anyone at the moment. His brain couldn't will his head to look up in the slightest to look at the older boy. He felt like crying once again, but he knew better than that. There were thoughts swimming around in his mind as to think of what excuses he would have to tell his friends who he didn't see in his earlier classes. Which, he had most of them in his classes.   
  
His fingers gingerly touched at his lip and the other small cuts on his face in the small solitude of his folded arms. He hoped that Levi would just leave him alone, but there was a certain tone to his voice that made Eren think otherwise.

 

Levi sighed. "Oi, don't ignore me and lift your head." he said, a little annoyed that Eren was ignoring him. He wanted to give him the drawing back. It was a beautiful piece and he'd drawn the flower to look like the galaxy, with bursts of pink, purple, blue, black, and various stars. It was a beautiful piece and he loved the way it had turned out. He had wanted it to be unique. It may not be the most realistic looking flower anymore, but he found it even better than anything real. He drew to escape the real world, this was no different.

Eren heard the irritated sigh from Levi and he let out a shaky breath of his own. He knew that his eyes were going to look a little red, glassed over even but he lifted his head hesitantly. He knew how bad it looked up close than it did far away. His eyes didn't meet Levi's and he sat up in his chair, his chin tucked into his chest so that Levi still couldn't see his face, his eyes shielded by his hair.

He rolled his eyes and slid the galaxy flower onto Eren's desk. "Here." He said, before turning his attention back to his sketchbook. The kid was acting weirder than usual today and he glanced up at him, a little curious as to what exactly would be the brunette's reaction, his pen even paused briefly.

 

Eren took notice of the beautiful flower and for a moment he didn't care if Levi saw his lip and the cuts on his face. He lifted his head up as he picked the picture up from the desk. He was speechless, his eyes wide. It was /beautiful/. Amazing. There were too many words to describe it. He gathered a small amount of courage and looked up to see that Levi was watching, waiting.   
  
"It's... wow." He said, his eyes flickering back down to the drawing. "Amazing. _Wow_. Levi, this is awesome." He felt his lips twitch up to a smile. He hadn't smiled all day. It almost felt a bit foreign considering to the day he was having. "Thanks."

 

A smile slowly appeared on Levi's face, but quickly dropped at the sight of Eren's. It was covered in cuts and bruises. Levi was all too familiar with such marks and a scowl appeared on his face. He knew those were no accident, they were on purpose. "Who did that?" He asked, forgetting about the flower completely. He did not particularly care for the boy, but Levi hated nothing more than physical abuse or bullying of any kind. It was something he could not stand.

 

Eren's heart dropped at the question. He couldn't tell Levi. Not like he cared anyways. There wasn't a point in telling him. Eren was sure that he just wanted something to talk about with his friends. "What?" He asked innocently, faking a perfect smile. "Oh, this?" He pointed to his lip and he laughed halfheartedly. "I just fell before school started. Tripped and I bit my lip when I accidentally hit a locker." He lied smoothly with a shrug, giving another airy chuckle. "I’m a clumsy person." He turned his attention back to the flower. "It doesn't matter anyways. But thank you for the flower. You did a great job." Eren faked another smile.

 

His face grew darker and more serious. "Don't fucking lie to me. Who the fuck did this?" He asked, his voice dark, dangerous, and enough to send paralyzing shivers down the spine of anyone. There was no leeway in his voice, it was obvious that he was serious and very, very pissed off. Right then, when he looked at Eren, he saw himself. He saw the scared and hurting boy he had been for so many years who always went around with cuts and bruises. Most of the time Levi could hide them, but not always

Eren bit back the tears wanting to well back in his eyes, his own eyes narrowing. Why did Levi care so much? He knew that Levi didn't like him, let alone care for him. But as he stared at Levi, his eyes darting back and forth between Levi's; uncharted waters during a storm, dark and dangerous and it scared Eren a little.

  
He looked down, his bangs hooding his eyes once again. "I told you, it was an accident. Not like you care anyways. Why would you?" He muttered. After a moment, he pushed his chair back and took the bathroom pass before walking out the door.

 

Levi opened his mouth to say something when Eren got out of his chair and left the class. His gaze rested on the empty chair for a moment before looking back down at his sketch. He stood up, which caught the teacher’s attention.  
  
"Stomach. Nurse." He explained shortly before heading out of the class, jogging to the nearest bathroom in order to look for Eren. He may not be particularly fond of the brunette, but he couldn't just let it slide. Not in this case.

 

Eren could feel his hands shaking, his body trembling as he kept his cool. He sat in the last stall, sitting on the ground with his knees hugged as tightly and closely to his chest as possible and his back pressed against the wall. He regretted the words he had snapped at Levi because that only made matters worse.   
  
Mark that three upperclassmen after Eren's ass.   
  
He sniffled but when he heard quick footsteps down the hallway and into the bathroom he froze. Even his breathing stopped when he heard the footsteps echoing in the bathroom.

 

Levi stopped in the entrance bathroom, tugging at his ear a little nervously. What the fuck was he even doing? He didn't even know.  
  
He glanced under the stalls, only one had anyone inside and he approached, rapping the door lightly with his knuckles. "Eren, I know you are in there. Come out." He said. His tone was almost tender, although it did have a bit of an edge to it. But that edge wasn't because of Eren, but for whoever the shits were that beat Eren up the way they had.

 

Of course it had to be Levi. Why else?  
  
Because the universe hated him, that's why.   
  
But there was a softness to Levi's tone that surprised Eren. But that didn't mean he was going to go out simply because Levi had suddenly turned soft. "No." He refused promptly. He left the classroom for a reason.

 

Levi gave an exasperated sigh. He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.   
  
"Open the door or my ass is coming in. You pick." He said, leaning back lazily with his hands in his pockets.

 

Eren scoffed, not moving from the ball he was curled up in. "As if _your ass_ would crawl on the fucking floor." Eren snapped, but he gnawed at his top lip to keep it from quivering.

 

"Just go away. It doesn't matter anyways, okay? I'm fine." He knew that he most certainly didn't _sound_ fine, but it was worth a shot. He sucked in a quiet, trembling breath as he willed himself to calm down.

 

"I never said anything about the floor." Levi mumbled under his breath, going into the stall next to him and standing on the toilet so he could peer over the top to see Eren who was curled up in a ball, trembling and obviously fighting a cascade of tears.   
  
"So what will it be? Am I coming over the top or are you going to open the fucking door?" He asked, grimacing a little at the fact that he was actually touching the bathroom facilities.

Eren furrowed his eyebrows at his mumbled words. But when he heard Levi's voice from above him, he couldn't help but snort. "Are you even tall enough to look over the fucking stall?" He asked himself more than Levi, but he made it so that he wasn't going to move any time soon. He hoped that his persistence would actually gain him some alone time like he wanted.   
  
His fingers touched his lip to find that it was bleeding again from his habit of chewing his lips when he's nervous. He should probably move to grab toilet paper, but he decided against it and he pulled his legs to him closer, tightening his arms.

 

Levi sighed. "Fine. You leave me no choice." He mused, using his surprising strength to hoist himself up and over the top of the stall. He carefully lowered himself onto the toilet seat and crouched there so his gaze was practically level with Eren's. "What was that about me being too short?" He mused with a smirk.

 

Eren didn't look up as Levi made his way into his stall. He could have thought it was funny, when he wasn't on the verge of tears with a bloody lip as he curled himself into a ball on the bathroom floor. For a moment, he didn't say anything, waiting for Levi to grab him by the hair and force him to look at him like the other boy had done that morning. Levi wasn't even on the ground, he was on the toilet that Eren was sitting a foot away from.   
  
He wanted to look up, but he couldn't find it in him to do such an easy task.

 

Levi took out one of the napkins from his pocket and handed it to Eren. "Your lip is bleeding." He said, his grey gazed fixed on Eren. He still fully intended to get this information out of Eren. The little shits who did this weren't going to get off so easily. Levi just hoped that no one found them in the bathroom or it might get a little hard to explain.

 

Eren twitched for a moment, wanting to reach out for the napkin, but he couldn't His chest was squeezed and his throat was tight and dry and he couldn't allow any words to come out in any form but a broken and choked back sob.   
  
"No it's not." He lied quietly, turning his body away from Levi slightly so he face the stall wall instead. "I'm fine. You can go. Don't let the door kick you on the way out."

 

Levi ran a hand through his hair. "Look at me, dammit. At least let me wipe that blood off of your face." He said with a long and drawn out sigh. "You know, it's not every day that I climb over bathroom stalls." He added seriously. He couldn't leave Eren like this. He knew it always got worse when you were left alone.

 

"Why?" Eren asked softly, lifting his head ever so slightly to stare at the plain, light grey stall barrier. That's all he could say. All of his feelings mustered into one word, and it wasn't all meant for Levi, but there was enough of Eren's feelings in the word for Levi to hopefully understand.

 

"Because I know what it's like. Now turn around dammit." He told Eren with an exasperated sigh, his hand resting on the knee, the wipe still held between his fingers.

 

Eren wants to counter it, but he can't. He doesn't have the strength. Not anymore. He turns slightly back to his original position and Levi's going to have to move to him because Eren can't will himself to move any further, his head ever so slightly raised that you can barely see his bleeding and swollen lip as it's hid behind his folded arms. He hadn't meant to anger Levi. That wasn't his intention at all and the fact that he was the reason for Levi's irritation started to bring back tears, but he allowed them to stop, giving his eyes the same red, glassed over look.

Levi sighed and used his empty hand to move Eren so he was facing him. He lifted his chin and dabbed at Eren's lip and the surrounding area that had been slightly smeared with a surprisingly gentle hand. He was all too familiar with the empty gaze on Eren's face, the position he sat curled up in. It had been a position he'd assumed countless times late at night when his father would finally go to bed. Levi would rush up to his bedroom and cry. When the first hits started coming when he was extremely young, he had even wailed for his mother. But he knew she wasn't coming back. He always knew.

 

Eren tried to pull away weakly, but Levi held a firm grip to his face and he blinked, once, twice and a tear fell down his face. Levi wasn't finished with wiping the blood when he finally had enough strength to move away and wipe the tear and the blood, causing a sting of pain to shoot through his face.   
  
"I told you I was fine. It's just some blood. It'll heal up tomorrow." He loosened his hold on his legs and his arms loosened slightly as well, His chin resting on his arm as he stared forward instead of at Levi. "I don't even know why you came to follow me here. It was just an accident, okay?"

 

Levi's arms returned to resting on his knees as he watched Eren. "It wasn't an accident, I'm not stupid enough to believe that. I don't expect you to like me or talk to me, but tell someone else. Don't put up with it. It will only get worse." He told Eren. With that, he climbed back over the stall door and threw away the napkin, washing his hands thoroughly.  
  
_Like you're one to talk._ He scoffed silently to himself. It had been over ten years, and no one knew of his daily terrors. Even now, at the age he was, he didn't put up a fight anymore. He didn't see a point, there was no reason to. He wasn't sure if Eren's were from home or school or somewhere else, but they were just as bad and Levi could see right through it.

Eren could feel an anger of sorts bubble in his chest and he turned his dark, hooded and narrowed eyes to Levi. "Yeah, and I didn't expect you to like me or talk to me but yet here you are, crawling over bathroom stalls to take care of some nobody loser who fell and busted his lip. I don't mean anything. I'm not worth skipping class for." Eren didn't know Levi's story, if he knew how Eren felt or not and he wanted to ask, but at the same time it wasn't his business. Levi didn't need to waste his time on him.   
  
Before Eren knew, he was crying. Softly, at that, but there were a couple tears running down his face and he wiped at them furiously.

Levi stopped where he was walking. "I'm serious. Don't keep it to yourself. You will only drown like everyone else."

 

And with that, he left the boy sobbing on the bathroom floor. There was nothing else Levi could do for the stubborn boy, but he hated the fact that he had to leave him there like that and there was nothing he could do or say. It was all up to Eren from this point on unless Levi discovered who was responsible. Levi didn't particularly care for the boy, but he didn't let things like this slide. Not only that, he wanted to see more of the beautiful art he would create.

Eren couldn't say that he _hated_ Levi, per say, but the harshness Levi held in his words caused Eren to stop crying. It stopped everything and it was almost like a switch went off in his mind because he stood up, brushing himself off as he grabbed the pass and cleaned himself up in the mirror. He made it look like he wasn't just crying in the bathroom and that his lip wasn't bleeding. He took deep breaths, walking back to the classroom and straight to Mrs. Huber who gave him a very concerned look.   
  
"I'm fine. My lip was starting to bleed again and I wanted to get it to stop."   
  
She nodded. "Okay, as long as you're fine. I'll let you pass on the assignment for today since class is almost over. But, we still have about fifteen to twenty minutes since you did leave before class even started." He nodded and didn't bother to look at Mina and made his way back to his desk.   
  
He wanted to draw, and he tried. He tried so hard, but everything his hand made was garbage to his eyes and he pulled out almost five to six papers from his notebook and crumpled them. He didn't notice when a particular one fell by Levi's feet.

 

Levi didn't look up at Eren again and ignored the boy, even as he ripped papers out of his sketchbook and threw them around angrily. Levi's own mind was swimming and he was no longer in any mood to talk. The boy remained quiet as usual. He did not bend down to pick up the drawing that was crumpled at his feet until Eren had moved to throw away those he had already crumpled up. Levi smoothed it out and was surprised by what he saw.  
  
They were sketches of a woman, a woman with kind eyes and a kind smile. Even from the page, Levi felt an overwhelming sense of calm, the same he used to feel around his mother. He'd seen this woman before, he had a drawing of her smiling on her wall. It was a drawing that had won a contest in his school and had quickly been snatched up by Levi and hung on his wall. It was one of his favorite pieces.

 

Eren looked to see that Levi had picked up one of the crumpled papers but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was bad anyways. If Levi wanted to keep the trash, then he could. He wasn't about to stop him. He had drawn her plenty of times before. She was his mother after all and drawing her was always something that calmed him, even when he was young.   
  
He found himself much calmer by now and he took a deep breath, trying to calm his shaking hands and he went to sketching once again, taking his time to outline her precisely, even when the bell rang signaling that it was time for lunch. His fingers worked delicately as he tried to recreate the winning piece of a art contest that his friends had entered him in. It was coming along, his hands finally loosing up and his pencil danced along the paper with ease.

 

Levi continued to carefully smooth out the paper and then stuck it into his sketchbook. He wouldn't throw it away. He couldn't, even if he tried. He had fallen in love with the way the picture had been drawn with such obvious tender and care, with love. Levi barely had any recollections of what love was, and every time he looked at the picture of this woman on his wall he was reminded of his own mother, the only person who had loved him.  
  
Before he left, Levi scribbled something on a piece of paper and let it fall on Eren's desk:

**Don’t Ever Stop.**

 

Eren didn't look at the note until Levi left. He read it. Over and over and over. He looked up to see that the paper was gone, Levi had been smoothing it which led Eren to believe that Levi had kept it. Why, Eren would never know. And he didn't care. Packing his things, he made his way to the lunch room. He smiled at his friends as he sat down.   
  
Sasha gave him some pain medicine for his headache and he laid his head on her shoulder as he closed his eyes. He always did this whenever he didn't feel well, and a busted lip and headache worked just as well as she rubbed his back. He didn't need to say anything to his friends for them to know, but they couldn't do anything if he never said anything about it. He handed him a napkin when he sounded like he was about to cry.   
  
He stood up, grabbing his stuff as he made his way to the bathroom, quickly rushing past Levi's table as he did so until he was out of sight. Usually he left to go draw in a quiet place and that was what he had intentions of doing.

 

Levi watched him leave, rushing past his table. He sighed and looked down at the comic he was currently working on, wondering where exactly he was going with it just then. His mind was filled with dark, ugly thoughts of the past. It was difficult to write comedy when those were the only thoughts bubbling up in his mind at the moment.

Eren sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror before heading back to English, his backpack feeling heavier than usual on his back, his feet feeling like they're trudging through mud and his head and lip and hand were throbbing with pain. They had gotten a hold of him yet again, but this time it was during sixth period. They broke his pencils, ripped a couple of his drawings, but they were thankfully ones he didn't particularly care about.   
  
They had pushed him once again, this time since they were outside, he scraped his hand and gained a couple on the visible skin on his chest, but those were minor. There was another on his face and his lip was busted again, but it could have been worse. Well, he kept telling himself that. He walked in, everyone staring at him. It wasn't news that Eren had been walking around with a busted lip all day. News spread fairly quickly through their school and he walked over to Mr. Z, handing him the note before walking back and sat at his seat next to Levi.   
  
He fiddled with the bandage that was on his hand.

 

Levi's eyes narrowed in on Eren's hand. That was fucking unacceptable. Eren was an artist, an amazing artist. His hand were everything to him, and Levi refused to watch that go to waste. He dug around inside of his bag and pulled out some ointment he always had on him. It was always better to be safe than sorry. "Use this so your cuts don't get infected." Levi said, setting it on top of his desk.

Eren's eyes glanced to the ointment, his movements stopping as he was slumped in his chair and he looked over at Levi, his eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his face. "You carry ointment with you to school." He couldn't help but laugh and picked it up in his hands, turning it over in his fingers and eyeing it.

 

Levi shrugged. "I'd rather not get an infection." And he left it at that. He couldn't tell anyone else of the cuts he frequently sustained from broken glass or punches and kicks so hard that they would split his skin. He always had ointment on him for that very reason. He’d even had to messily stitch himself up sometimes and had a few gruesome scars on his body because of it.

 

"Why do you even carry it?" Eren asked, looking back at Levi with curiosity in his eyes and words. He was acting like nothing had even happened between them, and that he didn't have the injuries visible to everyone in the room.

 

Levi's jaw clenched and his hands tightened a little in his lap. "Just in case." The raven haired boy replied vaguely, his voice a little distant and his gaze refusing to look at Levi. He went back to the sketch on his desk, barely even bothering to hide it from Eren anymore. He obviously already knew and you know what, Levi didn't care anymore. He hadn't told anyone either. From the looks of it, the boy had bigger things to deal with than spreading rumors.

 

Eren noticed the way that Levi tensed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something I shouldn't have." He placed the ointment on the desk, watching Levi out of the corner of his eye. Levi was actually being open about his sketches, but Eren didn't pry into something he knew Levi wanted to keep secret.   
  
He reached for his own sketch book when he remembered something. "Hey, uh, Levi?"

 

Levi simply shrugged at that and continued drawing, his lips pursed in thought. He didn't realize for a moment that Eren was talking to him for a moment. "Uh, yeah?" He responded, never looking up from the page he was staring at. He just couldn't quite get across what he wanted to...

 

"Uh, do you have an extra sketch pencil?" He asked sheepishly rubbing at his neck as he watched the other boy stare at the page in front of him.

 

That caused Levi to break his concentrated stare and he looked at Eren. "A pencil?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He had noticed Eren was particular about his pencils, most artists were, and he had just been using them earlier. There was no way he had lost them. Just no way it was a coincidence. Quite frankly, Levi didn't believe in consequences.  
  
After a few moments, Levi nodded and pulled one out of his bag, handing it to Eren.

 

"Yeah, I uh, lost them... during lunch." He smiled as he took the pencil from Levi. "Thanks." He chirped, a little too happy but Eren played it off with a smile as he went back to sketching the drawing from earlier in art class.

 

Levi watched him carefully out of the corner of his eyes for the rest of the period as he worked on his own sketch, wondering.  
  
Later that night, Levi made a trip to the art store. A true artist was not complete without his pencils.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment with any feedback/kudos if you enjoyed it!
> 
> The color theme used when Levi colored Eren's flower:  
> http://orig09.deviantart.net/b20d/f/2012/123/f/1/galaxy_texture_04_by_bublla-d4ye6l7.jpg
> 
> Our tumblrs:  
>  http://thy-undertaker.tumblr.com/  
>  http://queenofrulers.tumblr.com/


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a little late! I've been busy! Also, depending on how fast we start writing again since we've both been busy, releases may start being every other week.

It took Levi almost three days. Three long, dragging days to work up the courage. What for?  
To give Eren the pencils he'd bought for him.  
  
Sure, it was easy enough to go out and buy the pencils, but he'd been awkwardly shifting the around in his bag ever since, marble to actually muster up the courage since.  
  
They were now seated near one another in art, as usual, and he looked up and opened his mouth, as if to say something, but closed it again. Why the fuck was this so difficult?!

Levi had been acting a bit strange over these past three days. He didn't much ask about Eren's injuries anymore and he was glad for it. They weren't as bad as that one day, most of them being skinned knees or hands. And he was just as glad with that as he was with Levi to stop being nosy. Eren hadn't bought anymore pencils, so he found himself doing nothing during time.  
  
His eyes were closed as he listened to music, his arms folded across his chest to hide his hands that were covered in band aids.

Finally, about half way through the period, Levi mustered up just enough courage to pull the pencils out his bag and slide them onto Eren's desk, his gaze quickly returning to the sketchpad in his own lap. He had bought Eren the exact type of pencils he'd been using before too.

He opened his eyes to change the song on his phone that was sitting on his desk when he noticed the box of brand new, store bought sketch pencils. The same ones he had before too. He furrowed his eyebrows, pulling his earbuds and he picked them up. They were still in the plastic wrapper.  
  
Were these for him?  
  
"Hey, Levi," he poked at the other boy's back. "Did you see anyone put these here?"

Levi didn't look up and shrugged. "Maybe." He mused, pretending to be completely disinterested, however the blood in his veins was thrumming through him wildly and he paused what he was doing, holding his breath as he waited for Eren's reaction.

That didn't help him. He poked at Levi again. "Then could you possibly tell me who? Because I don't even know if they're mind. These things are fucking expensive." Eren switched his gaze from Levi's undercut to the box he held and shook it lightly, listening to the pencils move around.

Levi rolled his eyes. "They slipped them onto your desk. They're for you." Levi snorted. The brunette could be so oblivious sometimes. Levi finally glanced back at Eren with an amused smirk dancing on his lips.

Eren was leaning forward on his desk, his arms stretched past it and he held Levi's gaze for a moment. "I'm so confused." He moved back so that his back was against the chair and he brought the box to look at it, holding it in both hands. "You never answered my question for who it was, but whatever. Tell them thank you _so_ much. I really needed new ones and I appreciate them and their wonderful life of goodness and happy choices."

Levi snorted, as if his life had any of that. "I'm not saying all of that." He mused, watching Eren with a raised eyebrow. Was the kid really _that_ oblivious? Was it even possible? Levi wasn't sure.

Eren let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back forward on his desk. " _Please_ Levi." He resulted in using his puppy face, sticking his lip out slightly. "Can't you give me a hint? Just one?" He grabbed onto the back of Levi's chair, but he didn't make a move to annoy Levi as much as he already probably was.

Levi smirked and shook his head. "If they wanted to be known, they would tell you." He pointed out, slightly amused by Eren's antics.

He groaned, shaking the back of Levi's chair slightly. "That's not a hint. Don't hate me _too_ much." He sighed. He really wanted to know who had given him the pencils. "I just want to see if I can give them something, like a hug, or a drawing." He muttered quietly and withdrew away as he continued to stare at the box that was laying on the table.

Levi sighed, leaning back in his chair and tilting his head back so he could look Eren in the eye, their faces barely an inch apart. "Ask me on another day and I may be willing to admit who put those there." He said with a smirk, sitting normal in his chair once again.

Eren shouldn't had been as flustered and effected by the close proximity of Levi's face to his, but he was. He noticed just how... attractive Levi was. It might have been because he had a cute sneeze and he was smirking, his voice low enough for only Eren and he wanted to move, to do something but Levi had already gone to sitting normally.  
  
"Wait," Eren blinked, his hand reaching to pull on the back of Levi's chair before he could stop himself. His mind was working faster now and his eyes widened. He knew his accusation was probably a little far-fetched, but he decided to ask anyways. "Wait, Levi. Did you buy me these pencils?"

He didn't look up from the sketch he was working on. "Did I?" He mused vaguely, fighting a smirk that was trying to make its way onto his face. It took the brat long enough to figure it out, but Levi was hardly going to just flat-out admit it. It had been hard enough to slip them on the kid's desk. He'd carried those stupid things around for almost three days now.

Eren audibly groaned in frustration. "That's why I'm asking you. It can't be that hard to say a simple yes or no. It's not like I'm going to post it all over town saying that you did or did not buy me new pencils." Eren shook the back of his chair once more before letting go and sitting back in his seat.

"I suppose the world will never know then, will it?" He mused, leaning back yet again and twisting the ring in his ear. He shot Eren another smirk. Couldn't the kid just take a hint? He didn't want to say it aloud, not now or ever. Somehow, he couldn't even believe that he'd done it.

For some reason, he felt his heart beating a little faster when Levi sent him a knowing smirk. He wasn't the best at picking up hints if Levi was trying to give him one. "You suck," he muttered under his breath but opened the box anyways. He was careful as he did so, staring at the pencils with awe before taking one out. He couldn't help the large smile on his face and he suppressed his excitement for them.  
  
He pulled out a piece of paper, starting to doodle. It was as if the bad morning had washed away with the simple gift of a few new pencils.

Levi watched Eren with his new pencils, and the way Eren smiled slightly as he doodled on the page before him. Levi's attention was drawn to the cuts and scrapes on the boy's hands, and he suddenly had an idea. It probably wouldn't work, but he might as well give it a try.  
  
"I'll tell if you do." He said, indicating towards Eren's Band-Aid covered hands.

Eren looked up at him. "Tell you what? I'm drawing a bunny?" He flipped the page so that it was facing Levi. "I don't quite get what you're referring to."

"Tch." He said, rolling his eyes. "Tell me who's been banging you around, and I will tell you who gave you those pencils." He explained, not even bothering to glance down at the bunny but instead locking eyes with Eren, his tone serious and expecting an answer. He would find out who was doing this eventually.

"Really? We're still on this." He said in an exasperated tone. He thought that Levi had been done asking all these questions. "It doesn't matter who gave me the pencils anyways. They would have said something to me rather than doing it in secret." He looked down at the three or four band aids covering his fingers and the back and palm of his hand. He had just fell, whether it was an accident or purposeful, he wouldn't tell Levi that answer. "I fell. The ground was all gravely and so I scraped up my hand. No biggie."

"What a load of bullshit." Levi commented as casually as if he were simply taking observations. "Nobody falls that much." He pointed out, turning away and back to his own work with an annoyed grimace. That kid sure was stubborn. Somehow, Levi doubted he was the only one those kids were hassling around and it bothered him. He shouldn't care, but he did.

"You're a load of bullshit." Eren muttered. He didn't mean that, and by his tone it was obvious to tell that he wasn't more upset with himself than Levi and the insult was empty of any anger to Levi. "I fall all the time. I got a concussion last year from tripping after school, and I was playing on a trampoline with my sister last year and dislocated my shoulder, so I'm kind of clumsy." The injuries weren't lies, but he needed a way to make Levi believe his simple lies. "You don't need to act like you care if you don't." With that he pushed his chair back and walked over to sit with Mina, as far away from Levi as he could be.

 

\--

 

Over the next few days, they didn't exchange words or glances and kept mostly to themselves. It was tense, awkward, and the atmosphere between them was quite bristly. And, honestly, Levi couldn't be bothered in the least.

\--

 

Levi carefully unlocked his front door and tiptoed inside, on high alert. He had been at Hanji's house and it was late, as usual. He never came home early anymore, in hopes that his father would already be passed out. He wasn't so lucky today.  
  
"Oi, boy. Where've you," hic "been?" His father's slurred voice came out of nowhere and Levi cringed a little. He had finally caught onto Levi's sneaking in so late.  
  
"At a friend's house." He replied in his usual, monotonous tone. He knew what was coming.  
  
"What, you got yourself," hic "a little girlfriend?" He was getting closer to Levi, stepping closer and closer until Levi's back pressed up against the wall and the man's rancid breath that smelled of unbrushed teeth and alcohol was right in his face. Levi shook his head no. Despite all of his history fighting and not taking shit from anyone, he never defended himself when it came to his father.  
  
His father continued to slur and babble, occasionally knocking at Levi's head or punching him in the arm or gut. Without even thinking, Levi blocked one of the punches, and it all went downhill from there.

"Who the 'ell," hic "do you think you," hic "are?" He roared, bearing down on Levi who shrunk back against the wall, feeling just how really tiny he was. His father was a tall, stocky man with long black hair that hung around his shoulders and eyes that were bloodshot form all the alcohol.  
  
"I didn't mean-" but before he could finish, his dad's fist had connected with his cheek. The man grabbed at his shirt-again and again and again, the punches just kept coming without a break. Sometime during them, he felt his cheek split wide open and hot, sticky blood was pouring out of a large gash and his nose. Finally, his dad threw him onto the floor, throwing an empty beer bottle onto his arm which shatter, He let out a pained cry.  
  
"That'll teach you," hic "to talk," hic "backta me." He growled before stalking off, leaving his son on the floor covered in blood to pick glass shards out of his arm and hand.  
\--  
Levi glanced in the mirror at the damage created by his father the night before. His cheek had a large gash running along his cheekbones, and his entire cheek were bright and colorful shades of black and blue. He touched it gingerly, letting out a sharp gasp of pain. There was no way he would be able to cover it unless he went to school with a paper bag over his head. Next, he inspected his arm which he had wrapped as best he could after picking out all of the glass shards. It wasn't too bad, but he wasn't able to pull a long sleeved shirt over the bandages and was forced to let it show. He sure was a sight for sore eyes. He grumbled quietly to himself as he left his house, wondering what kind of excuse he could possible come up with to fool his friends.

Eren didn't like the fact that it was tense between him and Levi these past three days. He knew it was his fault for being so stubborn, but it wasn't much of Levi's concern. He thanked the nurse for the extra bandages and shoved them into the small emergency first aid kit that his father had him carry around with him at all times. He was a surgeon at the hospital, and he's been a doctor well over ten years, so it was natural that Eren had to carry something like that around.  
  
He was walking to art class and his heart dropped to his stomach, everything stopping as his eye watch Levi walk down the hallway to the art room, the large gash on his cheek colored in purple and blues like the flower he had colored which made it to Eren's wall. There was a large, messily did band aid on his arm and a dark, pained scowl on his face. Eren didn't know why he became so panicked, why he felt his skin pale at the sight or why he was darting down the hall and into the classroom.  
  
Throwing his stuff on his chair, he fast walked up to Mrs. Huber. "I was wondering if it was okay if I could take Levi to the nurse?" He asked and his urgency must have been evident as she didn't even look at Levi but her furrowed eyes stared at Eren before she nodded. He thanked her and walked quickly to Levi, grabbing his good arm in a sharp grip and pulled him out of the classroom and into the bathroom after grabbing the first aid kit.  
  
Levi tried to squirm and wiggle away from his grip and he tried to protest, but the look Eren gave him shut him instantly and Eren crouched down, his hands gingerly working at the bandage on Levi's arm to replace it with a better one. His face was full of concentration and he could feel Levi's gaze on him, but he didn't bother with meeting it as he wrapped Levi's arm after picking out glass.  
  
His stomach churned when his eyes looked at the cut on his cheek.

Levi felt embarrassed as he stood there, watching the boy bandage his wounds. He was terrified Eren would ask him where he got them, after all he couldn't exactly just say, "Oh, you know, came home late, dad was drunk... the usual." So he just watched the brunette, slightly mesmerized. Despite Eren's own wounds, his hands were steady and gentle, unlike Levi's which trembled ever so slightly. He couldn't help but stare as his arm was wrapped up perfectly, like he'd been doing it his entire life.  
  
As soon as Eren's gaze traveled to his face, however, he cast his eyes away, turning his face so Eren could not see the awful state of that side of it. "It's fine." He murmured, unable to look at his peer.

Eren didn't say anything as he pulled Levi down to sit on the toilet seat and his fingers ghosted over the touch, wincing when Levi flinched. He placed the first aid kit on Levi's lap where it once was on the floor next to his feet. He had seen something like this before, but not to this extent. As his hands worked to clean it and wipe the dried blood away, he felt bad with every flinch and wince Levi's body made.  
  
He grabbed gauze and medical tape so that it would stay, and he dried the wound before placing the gauze and taped it there. It looked much better, much cleaner than it did and he worked on the small others around his face, his eyes never meeting Levi's once. Once he was done, he sat back, bouncing on the balls of his feet before closing the small first aid kit. He didn't say any words to Levi before he walked out of the bathroom and back to class, his heart still stuck in his stomach.

Levi's eyes glassed over, staring ahead at nothing as Eren worked on his face. He felt like absolute shit. He hated it when others could see the injuries he received from his father. Usually, he got away with a few easy to hide bruises and some sore muscles, maybe a red cheek for the night and a bloody nose. This was the first time his father had ever hit him so hard and so much that his skin actually split, the first time he had thrown a bottle at his body. Having it on display for the whole world was the most humiliating part. Even though people didn't know anything about it, he felt their eyes bear into him and it was as if they just _knew_. He hated it.  
  
With a sigh Levi dragged himself to art, but he didn't touch his sketchbook or any of his supplies. It had been his right arm and hand that had been injured and it hurt too much to try and draw. It killed Levi and he hated the fact that he wouldn't be able to draw for a few days. So he sat at his desk, eyes downcast, his face expressionless and devoid of any emotion. It was like this in each and every class he went to, right down to his last class of the day-English. He couldn't bring himself to meet Eren's gaze in that class either as he sat down beside him.

As Eren watched Levi sit next to him from the corner of his eye, he stuck a new band aid to his bleeding hand. He was glad that it wasn't his left hand this time. But even with the band aids, he made the choice for art over pain. Levi didn't even touch his stuff through the rest of art, lunch, and even English. It concerned him and it made him worry even more for why he was so concerned about Levi.  
  
But there was something about his look that cause Eren's heart to break a little more each time he glanced at it through class. Mr. Z seemed to be tired that day, setting up a video for them to watch over something that Eren didn't care about and he moved a little closer to Levi, resting his cheek on his folded arm on the desk while he looked at Levi. "How... how are your bandages? Did they help any?" He asked quietly, but it was enough that he knew Levi could hear him.

He stared blankly ahead at the moving people on the screen. He was wondering what he would do with himself after school today, or if he had enough balls to even go home tonight. Eren’s voice brought him out of his mind, but he still didn't look at him.  
  
"I'm fine." He replied blankly, but somehow the boy's gaze on him, the worried and concerned tone in his voice somehow broke into Levi's carefully constructed mask and facade, his chest tightened painfully and his eyes stung a little. No one had ever talked to him in such a gentle tone before. Sure, Erwin and Hanji were plenty concerned but somehow... it was just different. They had never made him want to cry.

Eren panicked a little inside, but he kept himself gentle and calm. His hand reached out, gently pressing a thumb to the soft, fading purple bruise on Levi's jaw. "This one isn't as bad, which is good. Means that it's going down. And it looks like you're not as swollen as you were earlier." His fingers brushed Levi's hair to look at the cut on his eyebrow before he pulled away. Without thinking, he pulled out a new band aid and replaced the old one.  
  
He stared at Levi, watching the boy's eyes become glassy and Eren knew he was trying so hard not to cry. His hand reached out to place on top of Levi's. "Levi," his voice was just above a whisper. He willed the other boy to look at him, but he wasn't sure if that was going to happen.

Levi flinched at the boy's touch. He was not used to such a gentle touch from another human being and he instinctively flinched every time Eren touched him with his warm, gentle hands. It was unbelievable, the fact that he wanted so badly to cry. It was the first time in many years, he refused to let a single tear drop.  
  
"What?" he said to Eren, blank like before. But he didn't move away from his touch, somehow it was comforting in its own sense and no one else could see them since the lights were all off and the blinds were drawn. He looked down at the green eyes which stared up at him.

Eren's heart squeezed as Levi flinched under his touch and he wanted nothing more than to hug the other boy. It was worrying him. Well, Levi's state and his own because he distinctly remembers Levi being the biggest asshole on the face of the planet. But this Levi, he was different and Eren could see it, feel it. He unraveled Levi's curled fingers and squeezed them when he linked them together.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes blinking and he could see the tears almost falling down his face.

"I'm fine." He replied again, but the words were a lie. He wasn't fine. He was in pain and he was an emotional wreck, terrified that if he went home tonight the old man would come after him again. He was scared for his hands each and every time the man came after him, afraid they would be ruined and he would no longer be able to draw. Drawing was the most important thing to him, the thing that kept him sane.

"No, you're not." He moved his free hand to wipe away a tear that had unwillingly rolled down Levi's cheek. He didn't want to press on the matter, so he didn't ask because he knew better. He simply gave Levi's hand another squeeze and moved his head to look at the screen. He moved a little close to Levi, their legs almost touching and he could see Armin glancing over at him.

Now he just felt irritated and angry. Not at Eren or anyone or anything else, he was angry at himself because he had let a tear escape in front of the boy, because he was so weak that he couldn't even take a simple beating from his father when it was nothing compared to his fighting days. Despite his anger and his irritation, he did not move or say anything because it was the first time anyone had ever touched him so gently and kindly.

 _Tch. I'm fucking ridiculous._ He scoffed silently to himself, glaring at the screen ahead of them.  
  
Little did he know, Armin wasn't the only one glancing back at the two of them, but he had also caught the attention of Hanji who was now elbowing Erwin extremely enthusiastically.

Eren couldn't help but keep replaying Levi's broken face in his mind as he walked down the sidewalk, kicking a pebble as his sister's hand swung his back and forth. She was quiet, not one to really babble unless she was meeting someone new or she was at home. It was a strange habit of hers, but he didn't mind it all that much.  
  
"Eren! Eren! Can we go to the park?" She asked, tugging on his hand and he looked up. He sighed. "Yay!" Before he could do anything, she took off.  
  
"Mikasa! Come back!"

Levi sat at a bench just in front of the park, although it was slightly hidden by a tree so it did give him a little privacy. He didn’t have anywhere else to go just then. He couldn't go home, afraid of what might be awaiting him there. Normally, he would just go to Hanji or Erwin's houses, but he wanted to avoid the plethora of questions he knew each was harboring.  
  
But in reality, he just wanted to be alone. He wanted to draw. He looked down longingly at the sketchbook opened to a blank page that sat in front of him, and the night before came rushing back to him along with the gently way Eren touched him as he bandaged him as well as in English class, whatever that had been. Two tears slipped down his cheeks. "I fucking hate this." He murmured at the empty page.

Mikasa skipped, not entirely sure where she was going as she tried to find the park. She stopped when she heard sniffling and walked towards the sound, finding someone sitting alone on a bench. She stared at him, looking at the white that was wrapped around his arm and on his face. She walked over, sitting on the bench next to him.  
  
"Are you okay, mister? Why are you crying?"

The tiny voice surprised Levi and he opened his eyes to see a little girl peering up at him with big, innocent eyes. "I'm fine. Haven't you ever heard of stranger danger, kid?" He mused, raising an eyebrow. He knew he wasn't exactly 'nice' looking either, not that he would ever do anything to hurt a child. But people saw his tattoos and his piercings and automatically began assuming things.

She swung her legs back and forth as they hung off the bench since she was too small for them to touch the ground yet. "Did you get hurt? Is that why you're sad? Don't be sad mister. Mommy or big brother always kiss my owies better. Maybe big brother can help you with yours." She beamed a bright smile at him.

He wiped away the remnants of his tears as he grimaced. "Kissing wounds is disgusting, kid. Where is this big brother? He needs to keep a better eye on a troublemaker like you." He grumbled, glancing around, looking for anyone who might look anything like her as an indication of who her big brother might be.

She huffed but she noticed the book sitting on Levi's lap. "Do you like to draw?" Her eyes went wide. "Big brother likes to draw too! He's really good at it!"  
  
"Mikasa! God damnit. Mikasa! Where are you?" She perked up when she hear Eren's voice calling for her and she slid off the bench, grabbing Levi's hand.  
  
"He's over here! Come meet him!"

Levi arched an eyebrow, he recognized that voice... "No, that's alright. I'm sure your brother doesn't want to meet me." He said hastily, attempting to stuff his sketchbook back into his back pack quickly but he sucked in a breath as he hit his arm against the bench in his rush.

"Mikasa!" She continued to pull Levi along behind her until Eren came into sight. "Oh my _god_. There you are." She smiled brightly at him. " Du solltest es besser Wissen als weg zu laufen, was habe ich dir darüber gesagt?" [“You should know better than to run away, what have I told you about that?"] He scolded and she sagged her shoulders. He sighed. "I'm so sorry about her bother- Levi?"

Levi looked away quickly to hide his eyes which were still red and glassy from crying. "That's my name." He said, suddenly feeling a little awkward.

"What are you doing here?"  
  
"He was crying." Mikasa said and he looked down at her. "I told him that you could kiss his owies better." She smiled at him and Eren felt his face go red, but he forced himself to look back at Levi.  
  
"Mikasa, why don't you go play instead of running around talking to strangers?" He pointed to the playground and she nodded eagerly, giving her his backpack before running off. He sighed. "I'm sorry about her. She can be a bit of a talker with new people. Especially with people who she thinks needs her help." He apologized sheepishly.

He shrugged. "It has nothing to do with me." the raven haired boy murmured before moving to pick up the blank sketchbook he'd dropped earlier and placing it in his backpack along with the pencil he'd been planning on using. He had come straight here after school so he had all of his stuff still with him.

"Well considering that she literally _dragged_ you to me, it might have a little something to do with you. But seriously, what are you doing here? Why are you at a park?" Eren shifted Mikasa's backpack in his hands, watching Levi.

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied, being as vague as ever. He let out a sigh and blew some hair out of his eyes, but keeping them hidden from Eren.

Eren could sense that Levi was hiding something from him. "Well, I was picking up my little sister up from school and we were making our way home when she wanted to stop by the park." He moved to sit on the bench. "Oh, how's your arm and cheek by the way? I never got a chance to ask after English before you left." Eren noticed that he still had his bags with him, which Eren concluded that he must have not have gone home. Maybe to Hanji's house.

Levi felt a little warm at the sudden reminder of what had transpired between the two boys in English class. "I'm fine I told you." He replied in an exasperated tone. "Why should you care anyways?" He added glumly. Even after the gentle gestures and nice words, somehow he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that someone other than the two idiots was asking how he was.

"Well, I have a couple reasons." He said, sitting back with his arms crossed. "You did the same thing to me in the bathroom like a week ago when I had that bloody lip. And even though I was being stubborn, like you, I really appreciated it. Though, I was a jerk with the things I said. And I _care_ ," Eren added emphasis to the word and rubbed at his eyes after removing his glasses, "because I'm trying to be a good friend. That's what they do... Assuming that we're friends." Those last words came out as a mumble and he felt his face grow a little red.

Those words were a surprise to him and he raised an eyebrow. No one had ever called him their 'friend' before, so it was a strange thought. The word almost seemed foreign to him, even though it wasn't like he didn't have any friends... but Hanji, Erwin, and him had been friends for a long time, before Levi's mother had died. So it was different. Eren was the first person to ever establish himself as Levi's friend. "Didn't you say I was terrifying?" He asked, noticing the red on the brunette's cheeks.

"D-did I?" Eren couldn't help but stutter. It had been like these for a while now. He couldn't ever properly talk or look at Levi without a red face. During English someone would have thought Eren was running a fever, his face was so red. But that was the beauty of the dark.  
  
He shifted his gaze away from Levi and to his feet. "Well... To be fair, you kind of are. But not really anymore? If that makes sense. But, I do think of you as a friend." He made sure that his face was hidden by his hair so that Levi didn't see that he was as red as a cherry.

Levi's gazed raked over Eren's cherry red face, his own red-rimmed steely grey ones betraying his curiosity and surprise at his words. "Well, I guess that explains a lot of things." He mused, referencing towards English earlier that day. He wasn't really sure what that had been, and he didn't really care. All he knew was that it had been somewhat comforting, and he could almost believe this kid really did care. He felt slightly inclined to accept Eren as a friend.

"But not everything," he muttered back as his thoughts retraced back to this morning when his heart and chest squeezed at the sight of Levi and his broken self. How Eren's heart had taken over his body for a moment and before he knew it, he had patched Levi up in the bathroom and he was walking back out. He couldn't quite wrap his head around the reason why he did that, and he didn't want to dwell too much on it either.  
  
He finally looked back up once he thought that his face was back to their normal color. "You never answered my question though."

Levi's gaze had travelled while Eren was collecting his thoughts, over the street and the people and the passersby. Sometimes he liked to guess what their names and backstories were to make the time pass quicker, not that he really cared. It was an extremely childish and probably rude, but it wasn't like he was saying it out loud. There were reasons thoughts were private.  
  
"Which question?"

Eren snorted. Was Levi for real? It was getting a bit obvious that he's avoiding the question which just adds to Eren's curiosity. "The only one I've asked?" He said with a laugh. "I asked like a million times why you're at the park? I mean, you still have your stuff with you." His eyes remained on Levi as the other boy looked away from him and around at everything else.

Levi glanced at his stuff and realized how strange he probably looked. He was a 17-year-old boy who was bandaged, bruised, and obviously wounded, sitting on a park bench with his school bag and gym bag sitting beside him who had just been crying a moment ago. He probably looked like a runaway. A piece of him though the idea wasn't too bad, to be completely honest.  
  
"I... just didn't want to go home." He said a little hesitantly. Levi hated lying, and that was the truth. He didn't want to go home. In fact, it was the last place on this earth that he wanted to be just then, afraid of what might be awaiting him that wasn't his sweet and fluffy cats that were probably curled up on his bed right now.

Eren picked up on Levi's hesitancy and decided not to press the matter. "Oh, well do you want to come over to my house then? You can help me with the stupid English essay that we have." He stood up, throwing Mikasa's backpack over his shoulder. He wouldn't be surprised if Levi said no, but he figured it was better safe than sorry. There must have been some reason why Levi didn't go home yet, especially since it was so late after school had ended.

Again, he hesitated in answering. He wasn't sure if agreeing to go to his house was a good decision, but he didn't have anywhere else to go and it sounded better than this shitty park bench at least. "Sure, I need to work on it anyways. I can't concentrate here." He finally decided, standing up as well and slinging his side bag over his body, awkwardly sticking his uninjured hand into his pocket.

Eren smiled at Levi's answer, calling for Mikasa before they started walking back to his house. He watched in amusement as Mikasa took Levi's hand in hers and she babbled on about something with birds and macaroni. He smiled at the sight. Mikasa looked more like Levi's sister than she did Eren's. She pulled on Levi's arm as she opened the door eagerly, unwillingly pulling Levi along.  
  
"Mommy, mommy! I made a new friend! Look! Look!" She beamed as she yelled for her mother. She walked in, a smile on her face but she came to a stop when she took notice of Levi. Eren shut the door behind him, placing Mikasa's stuff down.  
  
"Oh, that's... that's nice?" Eren walked in after his sister and he took notice of his mother's relieved look when he walked in. "Oh, Güte. Sie hat mich erschreckt."["Oh goodness. You scared me."]. Eren chuckled as he pulled Mikasa away from Levi.  
  
"Mom, this is Levi. He's a friend from school. Is it okay if he hangs here for a while? We're gonna work on an English paper." She nodded.  
  
"I'm glad Eren's made other friends. It's so nice to meet you Levi." She smiled sweetly at him, shooing Mikasa away to go check on her father and shed off her coat and shoes.

Levi attempted at an awkward smile. It was apparent he did not smile very much, and it could barely pass as a grimace. He wasn't used to being around parents so it felt strange, foreign to him. Suddenly, he felt overly conscious of his appearance. Not about his piercings or his tattoos, but his innate ability to scowl without even knowing it, the cold hard look in his grey eyes, and the nasty wounds that decorated his skin.  
  
"Ah, it's nice to meet you too." He said a little quietly, almost as if he were intimidate by the sweet woman that stood before him. He found it difficult to meet her eyes.

"You boys be good and I'll be sure to keep the munchkin out of your hair." Eren laughed as he started for the stairs. "Oh, and your father is working late tonight so it'll just be us for dinner. Would you like to join us Levi? It's no problem at all." Eren found himself hoping that Levi would say yes, but he didn't voice it as he looked over at Levi.

Levi shifted his weight slightly, a little uncomfortable at the sudden question. It had been years since he'd eaten dinner with anyone other than Hanji or Erwin, and never in a family setting. He wasn't sure how up for that he was, but it would just be that much longer he could avoid going home. A home cooked meal and more time away from home... well, you really couldn't beat that.  
  
"Sure." He agreed, attempting to force that same smile but again it turned into a grimace.

"Okay mom, we're heading up. Call if you need anything." He waved at her, tugging at Levi's sleeve to have him follow him up the stairs. They walked into his room and he shut the door behind him, glad that Mikasa hadn't followed him. He sighed, setting his stuff down. "Sorry about that. She's not as talkative as Mikasa, which, by the way, I'm sorry for her just suddenly pulling you in." He smiled sheepishly and set his things on his bed.  
  
He was glad that his room wasn't a mess and was kept fairly clean besides some of his drawings left astray on his desk. "Sorry if you find random pencils or papers around. You can make yourself comfortable. I don't bite, promise." He smiled and flicked on the light, fixing a stack of papers on his desk.

Levi glanced around the room. "Tch, do you ever clean?" He mused, rolling his eyes which then began wandering around the room. His own was always impeccably clean, down to every crack, crevice, and surface. This room wasn't _too_ bad in all honesty, but to his cleanliness obsessed mind, it was still filthy. He glanced at some papers in the corner and an amused smirk lifted one side of his mouth. "I see you like comics." He remarked dryly. It was a collection of Levi's comics from the school newspaper.

"It's better than it's been before." Eren said over his shoulder. He didn't usually care about the cleanliness of his room if he never had anyone over to look at it. Usually he went to other's houses. Armin had been over a few times, but he never cared about the state of Eren's room because his was usually in the same state.  
  
He felt his face grow hot as Levi mentioned the comics and he shrugged. "Well I'm pretty sure that you do too." He remarked quietly. He loved the comics. They were usually the thing that made his day a little better. And the art style was one that Eren was never good at, so it was something that he kept to practice with.

Levi shrugged. "Only a little." He joked, amused as he noted that Eren's face had most definitely turned a delicate shade of pink. He went back to inspecting the room when he saw it, the picture that he'd found in the newspaper. The only he hung up on his wall, his absolute favorite picture of all time. It was the woman. The woman who was smiling so brightly and kindly, he had the exact same one on his wall. That's when he noticed the certificate attached to it and finally the pieces clicked in place. Not only was it familiar and from his school, but it was Eren's mother. "I wasn't aware you were the one who drew this." He commented suddenly, pointing at it.

Eren felt his body freeze as he looked over at the picture that Levi was pointing at. He suddenly felt very flustered. Especially at the fact that Levi somehow /knew/ the drawing. "Trust me," he said after a moment. "No one knew. My friends entered me in the contest and I was forced to submit something. So I drew my mom and submitted it and I ended up winning." He walked over to stare at it along with Levi. "It's probably not the best I could have done, but I was pretty surprised that I won." He looked over at Levi who was almost staring in awe. "How do you know about this? The drawing I mean."

"It... I-" Levi wasn't really sure what to say to this. It would probably be a little weird to say oh, you know, it's just hanging on my wall. Not creepy at all, right? Yeah, fat chance. So he just shrugged. "I remember seeing it in the newspaper and thought it was pretty good." He lied. It wasn't as smooth as usual, but he decided it would have to work.

"It was never in the newspaper?" Eren thought about it. "Oh, wait, it was at school. Not that no one cared. Which, it doesn't matter. I don't have the hopes of becoming famous." He said shyly and walked back over to his bed. "I don't really think I could in all honesty. It's just a hobby I became slightly good at." As he shrugged with a sigh, he pulled out his English folder and notebook. He did have a dream of becoming well known from his art, but his dreams were different from reality and he learned to accept that.

He raised an eyebrow ever-so-slightly. "Considering how much you actually draw, I would consider it more than a hobby." He remarked, finding and empty spot on the floor against the wall to sit down with his legs crossed in front of him. He usually preferred sitting on the floor as opposed to any type of furniture anyways.

"It's a hobby." Eren countered and decided to join Levi on the floor, his back pressed against his bed. There was a more comfortable silence that filled between them unlike the past few days. It was nice, or at least Eren thought it was. Only ten minutes had gone by before he sighed, placing the folder on the ground and he rubbed at his eyes after removing his glasses.  
  
He watched Levi worked for a few moments before speaking. "Hey, Levi?"

Levi didn't glance up from the page he had been reading, searching for more quotes to put in his essay. "Hm?" He responded in a noncommittal tone, his head propped up by his hands with his elbow resting on his knee lazily.

He remained silent for a moment, not entirely sure of what he was going to say. "What got you into art?" He was genuinely curious and he wanted to ease into getting to know Levi instead of just jumping into deep waters. He thought it was an easy enough question and he pulled his knees to his chest, watching Levi as he waited for a reply.

He paused, running his long pale fingers through his dark black hair. "When I was young I went just going through a... rough patch," _yeah, the death of my mother and then some_ , "and I took up art. It was soothing." He said briefly. He normally wouldn't answer a question like that, but the boy that sat beside him sounded so genuine he couldn't just ignore him.

Eren was really curious about this said "rough patch" but he didn't think that he should pry. But, oh did he want to. Yet, he thought about keeping his face in the condition that it was currently in. He nodded, resting the side of his head on his arms as he studied Levi's profile, his eyes taking in every detail about Levi as he stayed silent.  
  
"Does your family know that you do art? I mean, I may or may not have seen a couple glances at your art and it's really good." His voice was a bit quiet, his fingers absentmindedly making patterns on the side of his knee.

He stiffened a little, notably gripping his pencil a little tighter in the hand that wasn't propping his head up. "No, none of them know." He said, his voice quiet and slightly strained. Fortunately, his room was the one place in the house his dad didn't wander into. The man had no idea Levi drew, he had taken up drawing after his mother's death, and his Uncle Kenny was never really around enough to know those kinds of things these days.

Eren could instantly sense Levi's change and he felt bad for asking. "Oh... that's a shame, you're really good. I'm sorry. I'm sure they would love it. I do." He gave Levi's shoulder a small nudge with his own and he moved to stand up. "I'll be right back." He set his stuff on the ground next to him, and he walked over to the door.

He didn't look up at Eren, but continued to stare blindly at the page in front of him. He had hoped this kid wouldn't ask questions about his family, but it was obvious Eren had grown up in a caring and loving home with both parents who treated him well and a little sister he loved. The brunette knew nothing about things like growing up in a broken and dead home. Levi felt a pang of jealousy before pushing the thoughts away quickly. They were pointless and useless thoughts, nothing would change regardless of what he wished would happen.

Mikasa watched as Eren left his room before proceeding to the room, knocking softly and she pushed the door open with her small hands. She poked her head in, her pigtails swaying as she moved her head and she smiled when she caught sight of Levi.  
  
"Don't be sad Mr. Grumpy elf." She said as she walked over, standing in front of him. "Oh! You wanna play tea party with me and Mr. Snuggles?" She asked hopefully as she folded her hands together and rocked back and forth on her feet while she stared at Levi.

He arched an eyebrow. "Who is a grumpy elf? Were you referring to yourself?" mused, pinching her cheeks and rolling his eyes. Did he want to play with Mr. Snuggles? Um, no thank you. But he also didn't want to upset the kid. It wasn't like he had to do anything but sit there and listen to her babbling and giggling to herself.

She giggled as Levi pinched her cheek. She clapped her small hands and ran out quickly, grabbing her stuffed bear and tiaras. She ran back, her feet scampering across the wood floor.  
  
"Here you go! You can match with Mr. Snuggles." She placed a glittery pink tiara on Levi's head and wrapped a matching boa around his neck. She smiled big and bright, setting her bear next to Levi before running to grab her tea supplies and her favorite gold crown.

Levi rolled his eyes and returned to looking for the next quote he needed for his essay, not particularly minding the accessories, although the boa was kind of irritating. At least the kid was happy, so he didn't attempt to remove either of them and continued to mind his own business.

"You can't look grumpy and mean when you're wearing the boa!" She exclaimed after setting a tea cup in Levi's lap. She sat down in front of him, setting her things up before giving a cup to her bear. "You have to smile and look nice! Like this!" She gave a happy smile, holding her pinkie out as she pretended to drink from the cup.  
  
Eren sighed as he walked back up the stairs, running a hand down his face. He stopped when he heard giggling from his room and pushed forward, entering the room only to snort a loud laugh at the sight of Levi. He needed to lean against the door frame as he tried to keep his laughs quiet, but to no avail.

Levi looked up Eren who seemed to be having an uncontrollable fit at the door and he arched an eyebrow. "Something funny?" He asked blandly, although he knew full well that Eren was laughing at him. It wasn't exactly every day that you found Levi in a boa and tiara with a teddy bear in his lap, having a party with a little kid.

Eren died down to an endless stream of chuckles as he looked back at Levi. "Nope. Not at all, _your majesty_." Eren faked a curtsy and he sat down next to Mikasa, grabbing an extra silver crown to place on his head.  
  
"Doesn't he look pretty?" She asked with a smile, standing up to fix the crown on Eren's head so that it sat just right.  
  
Eren looked over at Levi with a light smile. "Yeah, I think he does."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not having updated sooner! I just had surgery on the eighth so I've been recovering.Unfortunately,because of my surgery and life we have gotten behind in writing so I can't guarantee a weekly update like we wanted, however we most certainly will NOT be quitting this fic.
> 
> This chapter is full of angst, pain, fluff, and lots of German speaking. 
> 
> I will be posting on tumblr every time a new chapter is released as well, so if you're interested in seeing those then follow thy-undertaker. The links to both of our tumblrs are in the endnotes as usual.
> 
> If you ever have anything to say about this fic I will be tracking the tag "fic: love at first sneeze" :)
> 
> Enjoy!

After almost an hour of "studying" and pretending to go along with Mikasa's tea party, Eren's mom, Carla, came upstairs to get them, giggling a little as she saw the teenage boys all dressed up in boas and tiaras, Mikasa babbling happily beside them in her own tiara. "Come down and help make dinner, come on Mikasa." She urged her youngest who wasted no time in jumping up and racing after her mother on her little toddler legs, a grin lighting her face.  
  
Levi pulled the accessories off with a relieved sigh. "That thing tickles." He mused quietly, rubbing at his neck and earning a laugh from Eren. "So, uh, how do, um, family dinners work?" Levi asked quietly, a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure if they had some sort of special ritual or something. He couldn't remember having a family dinner ever.  
  
Eren removed his own things from himself, coughing and spitting out a feather that had made it's way into his mouth. His face scrunched in disgust as he stood up and began to pick up Mikasa's mess. He had a lot more fun with Levi being there than when it was just him and his sister, but he didn't say anything. But he knew his mother would say something about it once Levi was gone.  
  
"Oh, you know, the usual. We sacrifice the blood of a virgin to our dark lord Cathulu to gain blessings over our food." He said nonchalantly with a shrug and he looked over his shoulder at Levi's scrunched up face in horror and disgust. He laughed. "No. It usually depends on what's being made. Sometimes when my mom is cooking, which she is tonight, then they'll let Mikasa help, or even both of us. When my dad is cooking, it'll just be him and my mom. We usually eat at the table, but there are rare occurrences when we eat Chinese take-out and sit in the living room and watch t.v." He stretched his arms over his head and opened the door, motioning for Levi to follow. "What about you?"  
  
Huh, it was weird. Levi had never really been much for cooking, although he knew how to make a decent meal, but he had never really realized that families would help each other with the cooking, and eating together was just about as foreign to him as the planet of Neptune, which he honestly knew absolutely nothing about.  
  
"I eat alone." He said blatantly and a little awkwardly, passing through the door way, closing it behind them.  
  
"Aw, really?" Eren looked over at him. "Well, you could always just come over here and eat. My mom obviously doesn't mind and Mikasa instantly likes you already." They made their way down the stairs, Eren laughing as he watched Mikasa stand on the tips of her toes, trying to reach the stove. He snuck over, tickling her sides as he picker her up and she squealed in laughter. He held her up above the stove as she moved the spoon in the pot and he took a carrot from off to the side and poke her with it, making her squeal again.  
  
"Away," his mother shooed him away with a smile and he bit off a chuck of the carrot after kissing her cheek. "Mikasa, why don't you go take the napkins and put them on the table." She nodded and took the stack to the dining room that was across the fairly large kitchen. "Eren, would you like to help me with cutting some vegetables?"  
  
She looked over at him as he leaned on a counter next to Levi. "No." She rolled her eyes and he laughed, walking over to the island counter.  
  
Levi stood awkwardly in the kitchen doorway as he watched the three move about, smiling and laughing in the kitchen together. They seemed to love each other so much as they played around, they seemed like they were having fun being with each other. He suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. It was stupid, he knew it was stupid. There was no point in feeling jealousy, it wouldn't get him anywhere.  
  
But still.  
  
Levi couldn't help but wonder if that could have been him and his mother if she were still here. Maybe if she were still alive, his dad wouldn't be some abusive drunk, maybe he would even have a younger sister.  
  
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. None of those maybe's would do him any good but make him sour and irritated.  
  
"Levi? Do you want to help?" She asked with a kind smile. She had seen the sudden jealousy and pain flicker in his eyes and she knew, right away, this was something he was not used to. Levi regarded them all carefully for a moment before nodding. Within minutes Carla had him peeling and washing potatoes.  
  
Eren smiled to himself as Levi stood next to him at the island, peeling and washing potatoes. It was nice, to say the least. Eren liked it. He hummed along to the song that his mother was singing, a song he had known since he was a child when she would sing it to him. She had brought it from when she moved here from Germany.  
  
"Momma, isn't that the song you sing to big brother when he's sick?" Mikasa asked, tugging on the apron Carla was wearing. She smiled down at her, picking her up and set her on her hip. Eren looked over at them over his shoulder.  
  
"Well, I used too but he's gotten a little too big for it. Remember when I sing it to you and Mr. Snuggles when you get sick or you can't sleep?" Mikasa nodded. "Do you remember any of the words? Maybe you can sing it to papa when he gets home from work." She poked Mikasa's nose, setting her back on her feet before turning to the two boys who had finished with their tasks. "I think it's all done. I just need to check a couple things so why don't you two go and wait in the dining room?"  
  
It was even more strange feeling than it looked when he was in their kitchen, helping them. But... somehow it was nice. It wasn't awkward of uncomfortable, but quite the opposite. It was a warm and bright place among them and he found he rather enjoyed it. Eren's mom was a nice woman, he liked her. He liked that she didn't pry. It was obvious when she occasionally grazed her eyes over his injuries with a brief questioning look, but she never pried even once.  
  
He followed Eren into the dining room after washing his hands and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Your mom is nice." He commented idly.  
  
Eren nodded, helping Mikasa into her booster seat as they sat at the table and he sat in the chair next to Levi, leaving an open one next to Mikasa for his mother to sit. "Yeah. She's always like this. She's really open and kind. You could tell her anything, at least that's what I do. She's not usually one to pry at other people's problems unless they were to confront her about them or if she thought that it was too serious. She patient as well. Which was how I got that picture from the contest. She sat still for like five hours as I drew her."  
  
"Mommy is a good food maker too!" Mikasa exclaimed. "And she tells the goodest stories at bedtime!"  
  
Levi looked over towards Mikasa who sat in the high chair. "Where did you learn how to speak, kid?" He asked, arching his eyebrow. Maybe kids just talked like that all the time, but her grammar really was terrible. "Eren, teach your sister how to speak." He added, looking over at the brunette. Just from that, it was safe to assume he was not around little kids at all.  
  
Eren held up his hands in defense, his heart stuttering for a moment when his name rolled off Levi's tongue so easily. He was really going to have a mental talk with himself later. "Hey, I didn't teach her how to speak. But..." He paused, looking over at Mikasa. "Magst du die Schule, Mikasa? [Do you like school Mikasa?] he asked and she looked up.  
  
Mikasa's face lit up at the question. “Ich liebe Schule! Es macht soviel Spaß! Heute haben wir aus Stöckern Leute gemacht und aus Papier haben wir Baby Vögel gemacht und wir haben sie angemalt und es war Emily's Geburtstag, also hat uns ihre Mama Cupcakes gebracht!"[I love school! It's a lot of fun! Today we made people out of sticks and we made baby birds out of paper and we got to color them and it was Emily's birthday so her mommy brought us cupcakes!]  
  
Levi's jaw practically dropped as the toddler spoke easily in languid German, as if it were her first language and the easiest possible thing in the world. "What the fuck? She can barely speak English, but she speaks German like a fucking professor." He remarked, completely lost by what she'd said. How did that even make sense? From what he'd understood, both Eren and Mikasa had been born here, not in Germany. He totally understood learning your parents' language, but that was just insane.  
  
"Hattest du Spaß beim Stöcker Menschen und Papier Vögel Machen?" [Very good! You're getting even better! Did you have a good time making stick men and birds?] He asked as he smiled at her, the language flowing easily as it always had. and she nodded vigorously. "Levi, please. Language. She's five. And we speak more German than we do English. And she's an extremely fast learner. She can pick things up really quickly."  
  
She looked up at Levi and then to Eren. "What does fuck mean?" She asked, her innocent, big brown eyes looking at Levi and then to Eren who had gone pale at the question.  
  
Levi choked a little, not exactly expecting her to ask him. Fuck, were little kids even supposed to talk like that? He was pretty sure Eren's mom wouldn't be happy if she went around saying fuck and told her she had picked it up from Levi.  
  
"It's a bad word. Don't say it. It will make you grow chest hair." Levi responded easily and Mikasa made a face of disgust, shaking her head.  
  
"Papa says Eren needs chest hair." She said after a moment, blinking her eyes at him as he scolded her in German and she laughed, high pitched and genuine. "Papa also said that Eren needs a _girlfriend_ , bleh!" She made a weird gagging sound and her face scrunched in even more disgust.  
  
Eren was thankful as his mother walked in with the food and he stood up to help her before sitting back down. "What's 'bleh' sweetheart?" She asked Mikasa and Eren groaned, earning a look from his mother as he grabbed his food after Levi.  
  
  
Levi smirked, "Apparently Eren needs a girlfriend." He snickered. Fortunately, Levi was not held to such standards by his parents, which was a good thing. Because unlike Eren, Levi was very much gay. Girls just didn't do it for him, they weren't the most appealing to him. Not only that, but his dad really couldn't care less if Levi was dating.  
  
"You're not supposed to encourage her." Eren said with another groan and he caught the playful smile on Carla's lips. "Das ist sowas von nicht witzig." He hissed.  
  
She raised an eyebrow, looking confused. Last time she checked, Eren didn't' like girls. "A girlfriend." She said as more of a confused statement rather than a question. Her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. "Hm." She paused before continuing. "No need to get embarrassed over something like. There are far worse things you could be worried about. Especially with her mouth." She made a playful face at Mikasa before turning her attention to Levi. "So Levi, you go to school with Eren? Are you in the same grade?"  
  
Levi shook his head. "I'm a senior this year. I know Eren from art and english." He explained briefly as they ate. He stared down at the bowl in front of him as if he didn't know what to do with himself. The idea that he was actually sitting here and eating with other people and it was a home cooked meal was almost unreal.  
  
Her face lit up. "Art class, hm?" She looked over at Eren who kept his gaze down and away from hers. "And English. Wow. You two must have an exciting time together." She smiled and she could see the red spreading across Eren's face and she laughed softly. "Senior year huh? That's so exciting! Have you decided if you're going yo college anywhere?"  
  
"I've applied to a few art institutes. I don't really have anything else I want to do." He admitted, noticing the red on Eren's face and wondering why he was turning red. So they had a few classes together, how was that even remotely embarrassing?  
  
"So you and Eren have something in common hm?" She asked with a little knowing smile and Eren looked up at her with a glare set on his face. She laughed when Eren groaned.  
  
"Mama, bitte nicht jetzt! Verschon mich ein bisschen." [Mom, please not now. Spare me a little.] Eren groaned. He had talked about Levi a couple times to his mother and she was more than glad that Eren had become friends with someone with the same interest. "Sie tun dies auf Zweck." [You're doing this on purpose.] He said again with his face turned downwards to his food.  
  
"Mama! Guess what?" Mikasa said suddenly, gaining Carla's attention from Eren and he let out a breath, running a hand through his hair.  
  
Levi raised a quizzical eyebrow in Eren's direction, but continued to remain silent, instead opting to fill it with warm soup.  
  
"What is it?" Carla asked her daughter sweetly with a smile.  
  
After Mikasa's babbling had finished, the room filled with a nice silence as they all ate their food. Eren was more than grateful for the silence as they ate and he stood up, taking Levi's bowl when they were finished and he took them to the sink along with Mikasa's and his mom's as well. As he cleaned them in the sink, he heard his mother bring up Levi's injuries.  
  
"Levi, would you like me to fix those for you? They seem to be wearing off. It'll be really quick, if you don't mind. I just don't want them to get infected." She gave him a soft smile as Mikasa ran into the kitchen to assist Eren.  
  
Levi cast his eyes downward at the table, a bit embarrassed by her bringing them up. If he had just been in a fight or something dumb like that, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But it hadn't been such a dumb fight and he felt humiliated. He glanced out the window, noticing the sky was growing dark. He needed to get home soon, hopefully the old man wouldn't be conscious.  
  
"Um, sure." He agreed a little sheepishly.  
  
She led him over to the bar stools where she sat him down, sending Eren to go get the first aid kit as she carefully peeled away his bandages. "Mikasa, honey why don't you go upstairs and play?" Mikasa nodded before rushing up the stairs as Eren walked over with the first aid kit. He said nothing as he watched from the other side of the counter.  
  
Her fingers were quick as she placed disinfectant ointment on the cut on his cheek, worrying growing but she didn't show it. She smiled and gave his other cheek a small pat after finishing cleaning all the cuts and bruises on his face and she moved to his arm. "Oh my, what did happened here?" She asked.  
  
Eren knew that if his father was home, he would be able to knowing what had happened and how to fix it a little better but he was busy at work doing exactly that with other people. She pulled it a little tight, watching as Levi flinched. "Sorry, it needs to be a little tight but the sting should go away after a few minutes." She taped it and backed away. "There. All finished."  
  
Levi couldn't help but watch her skillful hands gently clean his wounds and wrap them. Eren was a lot like his mother, they both had a very similar gentle touch but... hers was a little different. She had a motherly air about her and it was soothing and comforting, whereas him and Eren tended to have an overly aware aura when they were near each other.  
  
"It's fine. I should probably get going soon." He said, noting that the sky was beginning to grow darker by the minute. Maybe, if he was home earlier, his dad wouldn't throw a fit. Or, if he was lucky, he would be passed out and out of sight. "Thank you... for everything."  
  
She smiled at him. "Of course. Anytime. Would you like me to drive you home? It is getting a little dark." Worry etched across her face. She didn't want him to walk home alone. She worried. Especially with the kind of wounds he had.  
  
"No, that's okay." He said hastily, almost suspiciously. He didn't want to risk his father seeing anyone he knew. He wasn't [particularly concerned about Hanji or Erwin since they usually entered through his window anyways, but you never knew when the man might be watching. he also didn't want anyone to know where he lived. She seemed like the kind of mother who might try and meet his 'parents' which he most definitely didn't walk.  
  
"I usually walk home in the dark, I'll be fine."  
  
She watched him for a moment before nodding with a soft sigh and a smile. "Well it was really nice to meet you and I'm glad you stayed for dinner. Feel free to stop by whenever you want. It's an open door." She gave him a small hug before Eren led him up to his room to retrieve his stuff. He was silent the whole time until they got to the door.  
  
Eren opened it. "Thanks for coming over. I think you really made Mikasa really happy when you played with her and her little tea party. So thanks for that." He gave a small smile. "I'll see you at school tomorrow. Be careful on your way home too." Mikasa pushed past Eren's legs, one arm wrapped around them as she looked up at Levi with a bright smile.  
  
"Bye Mr. Grumpy Elf!"  
  
He awkwardly ruffled her hair. "Later, squirt." He told her, feeling a little overwhelmed with all of these heartfelt goodbyes. It was a little strange for him considering he wasn't used to such things, Carla had even hugged him earlier which had been quite the shock for him.  
  
"I'll be fine. Thanks for having me." He said as they reached the door, giving Mikasa one last wave as she waved at him, and then leaving and heading for home.  
  
Once home, he quietly tiptoed up to his room, thankful that he seemed to be alone, and was immediately greeted by Farlan and Isabel mewling expectant. He smiled and sat on his bed, loving on his cats and thinking. He'd never had anything like what Eren had when it came to family life. His home was broken and he knew it, but Eren's was warm and loving and filled with life. It had been really nice. Levi felt glad he'd gone with Eren, like his day had turned out a lot better than he'd expected it to.  
  
Eren shut the door after Levi slowly, knowing that his mother would waiting for him to ask questions. He turned around and he was right. Her arms were crossed and her eyebrows were raised expectantly. He mocked her expression as he shooed Mikasa away from his legs.  
  
"He's a sweet boy." She said after a moment and Eren nodded with a shrug. "Is he the one that made the flower for you?"  
  
"Well... I drew the flower, but he colored it because I don't usually color things." Mikasa played with his hands, stepping on his feet as she leaned back, using Eren as an anchor.  
  
She nodded, studying her son who she knew was keeping things from her. "Do you know what happened to him?" She leaned a shoulder on the wall. "That cut on his face wasn't an accident. I know that much. It's from some kind of fight. And the one on his arm was much worse. Like it had been cut by something. Your father would have more knowledge on that." She grabbed Mikasa's hand and started walking down the hall. "Make sure you invite him over again." He nodded and made his way back up to his room.  
  
He didn't get any of his homework done as he sat at his desk, staring out the window. All he could really think about was everything Levi had said. How he eats alone, how his family didn't know about his talents. It worried him to an extent, but Eren knew that if Levi wanted to tell him, then the time would come.  
  
\--  
  
Despite the lack of confrontation, Levi was in a foul mood today. He slept even less and worse than he normally did, plus his hand and arm were still much too sore for him to draw at all. So he had spent all of last night laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and listening to Farlan purring beside his head and Isabel meowing constantly to earn his affections. Needless to say, as much as he loved his cats, they were driving him crazy. Not only that, but around 1 a.m. that morning his dad had come stomping around the house, even coming as far as banging on his door for the better part of an hour. Levi had installed a lock on it years ago, both a normal and industrial lock so the man couldn't get in. He knew that the next time the man caught him, it would probably end with more than a few slaps.  
  
Sure, enough, his father had made sure to be awake and waiting for Levi the next morning. He slapped him around a bit, pushing him to the ground and kicking at his stomach until it burned, burned so bad he could barely move to stand. The cut on his cheek had been reopened but he didn't bother cleaning it yet. He left and arrived at school early, quickly making his way to the bathroom so he wouldn't be seen. It was obvious though, that the bruising on his face was worse and the cut was split open. He dug through his first aid kit and realized he didn't have any more bandages on him. He sighed and gripped the edges of the sink, thoroughly annoyed and scaring a few freshman who walked in.  
  
  
His mood wasn't any better by the time art came around, in fact it was worse because here, he had to sit and watch everyone else draw or paint, or whatever it was they were doing, while he could only stare at the blank paper before him, his stomach burning with pain, his arm aching, his face throbbing. English wasn't much better. Eren never said a word to him, occasionally giving him puzzled, worried, or sometimes even fearful glances.  
  
\--  
  
For three days he was like this, and each day when he returned home his dad would be waiting for him. Levi hated it, he knew he could defend himself, he knew, but somehow he couldn't find it in him to actually raise his hands against the man. He needed to wait it out until he graduated, he didn't have anywhere else to go. He was too humiliated to go to Hanji or Erwin, to admit the position he'd let himself be subjected to. It had never been this bad before, but the old man was getting worse. Meaner, harsher, more intent to really inflict damage on Levi. He wanted what he had done to make him hate Levi so much.  
  
Levi pushed Hanji and Erwin out of his face as they constantly asked him questions. They could see his awful, deteriorating state and they wanted to know why. They even threatened to come to his house and bother him until Levi told them, but they knew it would only piss him off more, he would push them away even further.  
  
He sighed as he walked into art and sat down, wincing as he sat down in his chair and, for the fifth day in a row, sat staring down at the empty paper that sat in front of him, anger, hate, and frustration boiling up inside of him. At this rate, he was scared he wouldn't be able to draw again. If he couldn't draw... there was nothing left for him, not in Levi's eyes.  
  
Eren had restarted the bad habit of chewing on his nails. And it was because he was starting to really worry about Levi. They hadn't talked in three days. Not since Levi had left his house and since then his injuries have gotten nothing but worse and Eren could tell that they were staring to get infected. he noticed Levi's wincing pain as he sat down in the chair, slowly. He hadn't drawn all week and that was the most concerning.  
  
He wanted to say something but he was terrified, to say the least. But Eren knew that if he wanted to help Levi, he would have to brave it and be a good friend.  
  
With that, he mustered up his courage and reached over to tap on Levi's shoulder hesitantly. "Hey, Levi."  
  
"What?" He snapped rather harshly, his grey eyes glowering. They were ringed with pain and an even worse lack of sleep than usual.  
  
Eren sucked in a large breath through his teeth, more audible than he had wanted it to be and instantly flinched and retracted his hand. Maybe it was a bad idea. Eren shook his head because he knew what his mother would say if he didn't.  
  
He took a couple moments before speaking. "Are... are you okay?" His voice came out hesitant and a bit small but there was genuine care and concern laced between the words even if it was hard to hear it.  
  
Levi's gaze shifted back towards the sketchbook in his lap and he gripped his pencil tighter, only to release it a moment later with a gasp of pain as it shot through his already throbbing arm. He gritted his teeth as the pencil rolled across the floor but he didn't bother getting up to retrieve it. "I'm fine." He hissed, but he wasn't. He knew his arm wasn't doing well. It was red and swollen and he was pretty sure it was infected, but no matter how much he seemed to clean it or wrap it carefully, it didn't seem to be getting any better.  
  
Eren watched as Levi's pencil fell to the floor and he thought of it as the opportunity to get a chance to talk to Levi face to face. He moved back his chair and crouched down, picking up the pencil and he hobbled over to the edge of Levi's desk and propped himself on his knees while he handed Levi his pencil and rested his arms on the table.  
  
He stared at Levi. "You're not fine. Not ever since you left my house like three days ago. You haven't said anything to me or anyone."  
  
He couldn't meet Eren's eyes and he looked away, giving a very small shrug. "I've just had a lot on my mind." He said quietly, taking the pencil with his left hand and putting it into his bag. He couldn't use it anyways. Levi could write with his left hand okay, but he couldn't draw with it.  
  
Eren hummed quietly, watching Levi's movements. "What kind of things?" He wanted to at least try and help Levi. His mother had told him to be patient with him when he told her about that past three days. She had even suggest on Eren asking Levi to come over again. Which he had planned on doing, but he just needed to find the right him to do that.  
  
_My father. How pathetic I am each and every night when I get home. How much I can't stand to look in the mirror anymore, especially when it is to clean my wounds and check my bruises. The disgusting way each lie to Hanji and Erwin rolls off of my tongue so easily, because I've been telling them the same lies for so many years._  
  
"Just things." He murmurs back quietly, wincing as a spike of pain ripped through his noticeably swollen arm.  
  
Eren is still waiting for Levi to look at him properly, so he sits there and he waits. "Levi," he says softly and he doesn't know where he's going with his words and he doesn't like he quite needs to. His eyes scan over his face, seeing that it's worse than it was and there's more bruising. But what Eren is more worried about it Levi's arm. It's swollen and poorly wrapped and Eren can tell that he probably needs to go to the doctor or even the hospital for stitches.  
  
"Do you, uh... you wanna come to my house after school maybe? We can work on English together because I still have to finish those questions for that one article he gave us. We could help each other maybe?" Eren tried to keep his voice light, hopeful even because he was a little hopeful that Levi would say yes.  
  
He should say no, he wanted to say no. Levi didn't want to face Eren's family in worse condition than he was already in, he didn't need for them to start asking questions and feeling concerned, but it was somewhere to go. It was a place to get away, and it had been a little awkward last time, but at the same time comforting.  
  
"Sure."  
  
As they walked together, is was silent, but not as bad of a silence that Eren had anticipated it would be. Levi still had yet to say more than two words to him all day. Even in English when Mr. Z called on him, Levi gave a shrug and continued to stare at nothing really and it was different. There was something wrong and everyone could tell, but no one had the guts to ask. Well, besides Hanji for what seemed like the millionth time for the day and Eren could tell simply by Levi's reaction to her.  
  
They reached his house and Eren was silently grateful that Mikasa had gotten out of school early and his mother didn't have work that day so that he wouldn't have to worry about picking her up from school. They walked in, Eren shutting the door behind them quietly. "Mom?" He called out and stripped off his jacket.  
  
"Living room." She called out and they walked in to find her sitting on the couch while reading a book with Mikasa. They looked up, a warm smile spreading across his mother's face as Mikasa climbed down from the couch and ran over to him. He bent down and swooped her up, sitting her on his shoulder, and tickled her stomach before he set her down.  
  
His mother stood up. "Levi, it's so good to see you again."  
  
Unlike last time, he didn't not attempt to smile and he nodded his head. "Yeah, you guys too." He replied awkwardly, watching Mikasa and Eren out of the corner of his eye rather curiously.  
  
"How have you been?" She asked, stepping forward and giving him a warm, motherly hug. It was cut short by Levi's yelp of pain when she brushed against his swollen arm and he drew it closer to his body, face screwed up in pain. He was overly careful with it, it had grown so sensitive over the past few days he could barely get dressed and he could barely eat. The past two days he'd been living off of instant noodles and cereal he made with one hand.  
  
She immediately stepped away to see what had caused the sound of pain. Her eyes found the source and she could feel her eyebrows narrowing in concern. She could definitely tell that it was swollen. "Levi, honey, you need to sit down." She brought him to the couch and sat him down, watching his winces of pain and she could instantly tell there was something else wrong.  
  
"I need you to move your hand, okay?" She said softly and replaced his hands with hers. The skin around the wound was much warmer compared to the rest of his arm. It was red and swollen and she immediately knew that it was infected. She turned to Eren who was standing in the doorway with Mikasa in his arms. "Ruf deinen Vater für mich an und bring Mikasa auf ihr Zimmer, dann bring mir den Erste-Hilfe-Koffer." [Call your father for me and take Mikasa to her room and then bring the first aid kit.]  
  
He nodded and shooed Mikasa up the stairs and rushed down the hallway. She turned back to Levi, addressing his other wounds on his face. Her hands careful but quick as she checked for any other infections.  
  
Eren rushed back in, handing the phone to his mother. "Verarzte ihn so gut du kannst, bis wir im Krankenhaus sind." [Patch him up as well as you can until we get to the hospital.] Eren nodded as she stepped away to the doorway and he could hear her talking with his father as his fingers moved gingerly around Levi's arm.  
  
He could see the confusion and slight fear in his eyes. He offered a soft, reassuring smile to him. "Levi, we need to take you to the hospital. You need stitches and it's badly infected. I wouldn't want it to get worse." She said after a moment, holding the phone away from her ear, concern etched over her face clearly and openly.  
  
His eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, I can't go to the hospital! It's absolutely out of the question!" He exclaimed suddenly, stepping away from her. If he as taken to the hospital, then they would know. Everyone would know. They would know who his father was and what a pathetic loser Levi really was, a loser who could not defend himself from a drunk, blundering alcoholic, yet had fought much much worse before.  
  
Eren watched Levi with wide eyes, surprised by the sudden outbreak from him. He hadn't seen Levi ever react in such a way.

"Er wird nicht. Bist du sicher das du nicht her kommen kannst? Grisha, bitte. Ich bin besorgt um ihn und es ist offensichtlich das Eren es auch ist. Er muss wirklich genäht werden. Es ist schlimmer als vor drei Tagen." [He won't. Are you sure that you can't come here? Grisha, please. I'm worried about him and it's clear that Eren is too. He really needs stitches. It's worse than it was three days ago.] His attention was drawn back to his mother as she talked to his father over the phone. It sounded like he couldn't come over here, so they needed to take Levi there. But Levi wouldn't budge. Eren knew how stubborn Levi was.  
  
Then the idea popped into his head. " Levi," his voice was calm, gentle, reaching out to grab his hand like he had that day in English. He gave it a reassuring squeeze just like in English. "It's okay. Please? You really need to. And I'm pretty sure that you want to be able to draw again right? And you can't if you're in pain and can't use your arm."  
  
Levi gritted his teeth, looking away and ripping his hand out of Eren's grasp. He knew that Eren was right. He had been worried about it himself for a couple days now. He'd watched as his injuries got worse and he worried over what would happen if he could no longer draw.  
  
"Under one condition. You aren't allowed to call my house." He said quietly. He didn't want Eren to know, he didn't want this gentle and kind family to see the true him, or the disgusting man that was his father.  
  
Eren felt a pang of hurt shoot through his chest by Levi's harsh actions but he knew that he was pushing his limits with that, but at least he had gotten Levi to go. He let out a small sigh and nodded. He listened to his mom explain they would be there shortly.  
  
Eren ran up the steps to grab Mikasa, grabbing her shoes on the way out. He helped strap her into her booster seat before climbing in with Levi. They arrived soon enough, walking towards the E.R entrance. Eren grabbed Mikasa and put her on his back so it was easier and she didn't complain, flying the toy Pegasus that was in her hand as he walked.  
  
"Hi, Carla." One of the nurses greeted and she smiled at Eren and Mikasa.  
  
"Is Grisha here? He said he would be waiting for us."  
  
The nurse nodded. "Oh, yeah, he said you were coming. I'll buzz him and he'll be right out." Carla nodded and thanked the nurse before ushering the three kids to the seats. Eren removed Mikasa from his back and to his mother's lap and took a seat next to Levi. There were people in the waiting, like there usually were, but not as many as there usually would be.  
  
"Carla." Eren perked up at the sound of his father's voice and he looked a bit surprised to see Eren there and his eyes landed on Levi who sat next to him. She stood up, setting Mikasa on her hip and they talked quietly to each other before he nodded and he motioned for them to follow him to the large double doors that only doctors could get through. He scanned his badge and they made their way to an empty room, and he closed the curtains behind him after Carla put Mikasa in the kid's play area that was near the room.  
  
"Are you Levi?" Grisha asked. He had almost instantly recognized Levi when he saw the boy in the waiting room and he was sure he knew what exactly had caused the injuries.  
  
Levi assumed they'd told him his name and he nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Without another word, Grisha started with the basics usually done by the nurses, it didn't take him long anyways since they weren't filling out any paperwork at the moment. He checked his arm first, examining it closely for a few seconds before calling a nurse to bring him antibiotics. He cleaned around it as best he could before numbing and stitching the cut on his cheek. Finally, once he was satisfied with his work, he sat back and fixed Levi with a calculative stare.  
  
"Levi, I need you to tell me what happened. Since I had to give you antibiotics I have to give a full report." He said, his voice calm and level. But he had a feeling he already knew what happened. Levi shook his head, keeping his jaw clenched tight. Grisha sighed.  
  
"I know Kyle. Does it have something to do with him?" Levi's eyes widened for a moment and he looked away, ashamed. But he refused to say anything, so he shook his head again. "I need you to tell me so I can do something about it. I can make it stop Levi, but I can't do anything unless you tell me.  
  
Levi's mind was racing with fear, panic, confusion. How did Eren's dad know his father? It didn't make any sense, not really. How could he possibly now? Levi's heart raced with fear... but what if what Grisha had said was true? What if he could get away?  
  
Once it was clear that Levi was set on saying anything Grisha let out a small sigh, turning to Eren since Carla had slipped out to check on Mikasa and give them privacy. Eren swallowed thickly, the look on his father's face one he had seen plenty of times before and it made his stomach churn. "Ich gebe dir ein paar Minuten. Versuch ihn wenigstens davon zu überzeugen etwas zusagen, selbst wenn du nicht weißt was vorsich geht." [I'll give you a few minutes. At least try and convince him to say something, even if you don't know what's going on. ]  
  
Eren nodded and watched his fathers leave before it was just him and Levi in the room. He definitely looked better than he did and he glad for that. Eren walked over,sitting on a chair next to Levi, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't exactly sure what to say, but he was trusted with saying something.  
  
He started off with a sigh. "I'm not entirely clear... on what's going on." He said, his eyes roaming around the room. "But, it must be bad. I mean, I could guess, but it's your business not mine and if you wanted to tell me then you would." He finally looked at Levi, his arms falling to his side as he fisted his hands in his lap, staring down at them. "But Levi, you need to tell someone. Whatever it is you need to say or explain, it doesn't matter because obviously it hasn't been working out and your safety is what matters. My mom is worried about you, Mikasa, my dad..." his voice trailed off, "me. And I don't like seeing you like this. I mean, given we've only been friends for a week, that doesn't mean I can't care for your well being. You did the same for me when I got that busted lip. You climbed over a fucking stall," he couldn't help but smile a little at the memory and he gave Levi's shoulder a soft nudge. "At least think about it. We can help you."  
  
"That was different."Levi murmured, biting his lip slightly. He wanted to say something, he wanted to tell them, he wanted them to help him but... he didn't have anywhere else to go. He just needed to make it until graduation. "I... I can't tell you." He choked out, unable to meet either Eren or Carla's gaze.  
  
They all sat in an awkward and rather uncomfortable silence until Grisha returned a few moments later, extending his arm out towards Levi, a cellphone in his hand. "It's your uncle." He said, holding up a hand when Levi's face twisted into one of anger and h opened his mouth as if to say something. "Don't ask questions, just talk to him." He added. Levi grabbed the phone with a scowl and put it up to his ear.  
  
"Hello?" He spoke reluctantly into the receiver.  
  
"Levi? It's good to here your voice again, it's been so long! Levi you need to tell Grisha what's going on. He told me what he thinks happened. If I need to, I will come and live with you until you graduate. I'm your uncle. I know I haven't been around much, but if you need me I'll be there. This is serious and you can't just blow it over. Levi, tell Grisha what happened or I am going to get on the next possible flight and bother you until you do." Levi listened quietly and bit down on his tongue to stop the ache in his eyes as his uncle spoke to him.  
  
"Alright, I will." Levi responded quietly, nodding.  
  
"Thank you. You can hang up now, I will call you later so we can make any arrangements we need to, alright? Promise me you'll tell Grisha everything."  
  
"I promise." And with that, Levi pressed the end button and handed the cellphone back to Eren's dad. He swallowed nervously, his saliva somehow fling heavy and his mouth was dry.  
  
"It.. it was my dad. Kyle Ackerman." He said, his eyes cast downward towards the ground. Now they knew, they all knew.  
  
"How long has this been going on?"  
  
"Since I was eight." He whispered back quietly. It had been almost ten years since his father had thrown the first hit.  
  
"Okay, I need you to tell me everything." Levi nodded, and suddenly 10 years of secrets and abuse came flooding from his mouth like the water from a dam that had been removed. How he became an alcoholic when his mother died while Levi was only six-years-old, the first time he'd hit the little raven-haired boy when he was eight-years-old, how he'd gone through the years hiding bruises and wounds constantly, and the more recent events. The worst wounds yet. The ones that landed him here in this hospital, spilling his guts to practical strangers.  
  
He finished with a shaky sigh, his eyes red-rimmed and aching. He wanted to cry, but refused to. He couldn't bring himself to cry in front of these people, he was already pathetic enough after practically telling them his life story. His eyes remained fixed on the floor in front of him. Throughout his entire explanation, he hadn't looked up once, afraid of what he would see in their eyes.  
  
"It's okay, Levi. Everything will be okay." Grisha said with a squeeze to his shoulder.  
  
"Dr. Jaeger, there's a call on line one for you." A nurse said softly, poking her head into a room after knocking on the steel beam and he nodded, looking back at Eren. He gave a nod and Grisha smiled at him in a silent thank you and he walked out, Carla going right after with a phone in her hand. He could only guess she went to file a police report for Levi. He wasn't sure what to say. He was at a loss for words.  
  
He felt like he needed to say something, anything, but he couldn't and it made his heart ache even more. He scooted a little closer to Levi, testing his boundaries for a hesitant moment. "Are you okay, Levi?" Eren knew it was a stupid question to ask, because he obviously wasn't after just spilling his heart out to random strangers, even if Eren wasn't as much of one as his family was. But it never hurt to ask.  
  
"I'm sorry. I know that kind of has an empty meaning to it because..." his voice trailed off. "I... well I can't really say that /I know/ it's hard, but, I'm proud of you... for telling us. It'll get better. We're here for you Levi. Even if you don't really know us and we're kind of strangers to you, we're here for you." Eren's voice fell to a soft, quiet one at his next words and he was hesitant to reach over and grab Levi's hand on more time in hopes that he wouldn't yank it away from his grasp. "I'm here for you."  
  
Finally, Levi looked up and over at Eren, feeling slightly more comfortable being alone with Eren than he'd felt with the two adults in the room. He studied Eren's big green eyes for a moment, before dropping them again. "I must seem really pathetic to you right now." He croaked in a strained voice. But he didn't move to rip away from Eren's hand this time. It was like that day in English when he had comforted Levi this same way. It felt nice somehow.  
  
Before he knew what he was doing, he turned in his chair to turn directly to Levi, pulling him a little to face him as well. His green eyes were set in a stern look, but he wasn't angry or mad. "Levi, there is nothing you can say or do to make me think that you are or ever were pathetic. Because you're not. There is no reason." Eren tightened his grip on Levi's hand and his eyes softened and he felt his heart break even more at the broken look on Levi's face. He wanted to hug the other boy. But he knew that would be pushing it. "I'm not that great with words, but you're not pathetic. You are the definition of strong, okay?" Once again, his voice dropped. "Don't ever call yourself pathetic."  
  
He turned back the right way in his seat after a moment of silence, but his hand still remained in Levi's, even after his mother walked back in explaining that she had filed a police report and they would have a couple officers come to them since Levi had yet to be discharged. It was a couple moments before Grisha poked his head in to call Carla out so that they could talk, leaving the two boys in silence once again.  
  
They sat in silence as a nurse came in and gave Levi an IV, flushing it and pumping painkillers and antibiotics into his body to fight off the infection. "If I were strong, then I would have done something a long time ago." He sighed and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling tired and as if his body were being weighed down by a million pounds. "I feel so sleepy." he mumbled, already halfway unconsciously. Within moments, sleep had dragged him away from consciousness. A single, soft and almost delicate snore escaped him as his body went completely limp, his head rolling onto Eren's shoulder, his raven-black hair tossed around messily. It was the first time he'd completely fallen asleep all week, exhausted from the lack of sleep and the excitement of today.  
  
Eren froze at the contact, his heart beginning to beat rapidly in his chest. He glanced over to see that Levi had fallen asleep before he even had the chance to counter what he had said. He shifted them both so that they were leaning on each other, Levi's hair tickling Eren's neck as he adjusted Levi's head. His fingers brushed Levi's hair away from his face and Eren couldn't help but smile at just how peaceful Levi looked. It made his heart do something weird and he couldn't describe it.  
  
As Eren listened to the soft sounds of Levi's breathing, he moved to lay his head on top of Levi's, his thumb brushing the back of Levi's hand softly and he closed his own eyes. It wasn't even dinner time yet and he felt exhausted for some reason. School had been tiring, along with the rest of the week but Levi had more of a right to be tired than Eren did. It was a couple minutes before the curtain opened, along with his eyes and he saw his mother who was smiling fondly at the two of them.  
  
He raised his eyebrows, lifting his head up from Levi's. "They want to wait a couple minutes to make sure that the antibiotics are working properly before sending him home." His mother's voice was soft to make sure she didn't wake the sleeping boy on Eren's shoulder. "Your dad talked with his Uncle Kenny and they made some rearrangements. He'll be staying with us for a week or so until he can come down here. We also need to take him to the police station so that they can file a report and arrest Kyle." Eren nodded, his thumb continuing to stroke Levi's hand even though he was sure that Levi couldn't feel it.  
  
"So we'll also be able to take him and get some of his stuff after that right?" Eren asked. "He has two cats."  
  
"Well you love cats." She smiled.  
  
"Is dad okay with this?"  
  
She let out a small sigh. "He's just a bit concerned about Levi is all. Nothing too major. He and Kenny are old friends. He actually knew Levi's mother before her passing because of how well he and Kenny know each other. They're old, /old/ friends. Probably from back in college." There was a small, motherly smile on her face as she walked over and brushed some of Levi's hair.  
  
It was silent, the only sound being the nurses and people from the hallway and Levi's soft snoring that brought a smile to Eren's face. They were finally able to go after Grisha walked in, Mikasa in his arms as she babbled on to him about something and she was handed over to Carla. "Thank you, dad." Eren said after a moment and Grisha looked over at him.  
  
"What are you thanking me for? It's my job." Eren gave a shrug with the shoulder that Levi wasn't laying on. He stood up awkwardly, Grisha having to help him until he was able to carefully pick Levi up bridal style, his head laying on Eren's chest as he was still sound asleep. They left the hospital, waving goodbye to Grisha as they did so. Eren was careful to put Levi in the car, Mikasa falling asleep in her car seat on the way home.  
  
Eren let out a small sigh when they got home, taking Levi up the stairs carefully and into the guest bedroom where he laid the smaller boy down gently and covered him with the blankets. He let his hand squeeze Levi's once more before shutting the door quietly behind him.  
  
\--  
  
Levi woke with a yawn, rubbing at his sleep-filled eyes with the back of his hand and staring up at the ceiling for a moment. He reached his hand up to the spot where Farlan should have been resting, but found nothing but empty air. He drew his eyebrows together in confusion before sitting up and looking around the room. Where was he? This wasn't his bedroom.  
  
Suddenly, the days events came flooding back to him and he squeezed his eyes shut and fell back against the bed with a sigh, pulling the blankets over his head as if that could keep the world out. If only they would.  
  
As Eren was walking up the stairs, the front door opened and he looked to see his father walk through the door. He gave Eren a smile, his attention turning to MIkasa as she ran over to hug him like she did with everyone. Eren turned back around and walked back up the rest of the stairs and to the guest bedroom to check on Levi once again. It was near dinner time and he was hoping that Levi was awake so that they could feed him something.  
  
He could hear his parents talking downstairs, their voices becoming more muffled as he walked down the hall and knocked softly on the door before opening it slowly and he poked his head in. The covers had moved to over Levi's head and Eren walked over, leaving the door open as he sat on the edge of the bed and gave Levi's leg a slight shake.  
  
"Levi? Are you awake?"  
  
He groaned, rolling over in the bed until he was completely swaddled in the blanket, his face turned away from Eren. It was still covered with the blanket, however his head spilled out the back. He sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I'm awake."  
  
Eren smiled at the sight. "How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?" He stood up, walking over to see Levi's face, if he could since there were so many blankets. "And can you try and sit up?" He removed the blankets from around Levi's head, finding his shoulders to try and get him to sit up.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Mikasa poked her head in, a big smile on her face. "Mikasa, you need to be downstairs."  
  
"Papa said to come see you." Her big smile widening even more when she saw that Levi was awake and she walked over, pushing past Eren to stare at Levi's head. She put a teddy bear in front of him. "Here you go Mr. Grumpy Elf." Eren raised an eyebrow at her. "Mr. Snuggles always helps me feel better so maybe he can make you feel better too."  
  
Eren smiled a little before shooing her to the door. "Tell Papa that we'll be right down." She nodded, leaving the room with a skip and he looked back at Levi.  
  
Levi sat up like Eren wanted, letting the blanket fall loosely in his lap. "I'm fine." He lied quietly, not able to look up and into Eren's eyes. For the first time in a long time, he felt completely drained, pathetic and overall worthless. He'd never necessarily felt worthy of anything, but somehow, now that the boy in front of him knew about everything, it all seemed unbearable somehow. His chest tightened and tears stung at his eyes. /Don't cry, Levi. It's disgusting and pathetic./ He thought to himself, but he couldn't hold back them all and a few escaped, falling over his cheeks. With each one that feel, the rest just became harder and harder to hold back. He completely averted his face from Eren's view, hoping he wouldn't notice.  
  
Eren watched as Levi looked away and he instantly knew. He climbed onto the bed next to Levi, bringing him close without question into a hug that he knew Levi needed. He was careful of his cheek and arm as he felt Levi begin to cry even harder. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Levi was feeling, how long he had been holding in his tears.  
  
"It's okay Levi. You're okay. Don't worry, I'm here." He cooed quietly, his hand running up and down the boy's good arm comfortingly.  
  
He couldn't stop the tears as they cascaded down his cheeks and clutched at the blankets in his lap. Why was he crying? How could he cry in front of Eren. It was pathetic... it was disgusting... and yet he couldn't stop himself and it just kept on flowing. They sat like this for a while until Levi had cried himself dry. "I'm sorry..." He whispered quietly, and for the second time that day, a soft and delicate snore escaped him as he fell asleep on Eren.  
  
Eren was sure that his heart couldn't hurt more until he heard the whispered words from Levi. He positioned Levi comfortably on his lap, hoping that it was comfortable for Levi as well, his fingers threading softly through Levi's hair as he slept and he wiped away the tears on his cheeks gently. He pulled the blankets over Levi, staring down at him, at the twisted but calm expression on Levi's face almost as though he was having a bad dream.  
  
He was practically living a nightmare.  
  
Eren found himself softly humming the old tune that his mother would sing to him whenever he was sick as a child. He hoped it would calm Levi's mind subconsciously, hearing something as gentle as that to help give him a better sleep. His thumb continued to stroke his cheek even when the tears were dried and gone and he didn't care. He simply wanted Levi to feel safe.  
  
Eren didn't even notice his mother peaking in the room at the team of them, completely enveloped in Levi on his lap to even notice the door's slightly bigger opening. She smiled at the sight before closing the door softly just in time for Eren to fall asleep as well.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it has been way too long since the last update! So sorry guys! Things are finally starting to settle down in life, so hopefully updates will come out quicker! Thank you to all of our lovely readers and to all those who have taken the time to comment!
> 
> Special thanks to TheShadowCookie who has translated the German in previous chapters so it is grammatically correct and has agreed to continue to help with the German in the future!  
> [This chapter has yet to be translated as we wanted to get the update out quickly. Hopefully we will have them very soon.]

Levi woke the next morning with a massive headache, but he somehow still felt well rested. He stretched his arm out and it brushed something soft and warm, his gaze followed the arm to realize he'd fallen asleep in the same bed as Eren, after he'd completely lost his self restraint. Levi groaned and rolled over, hoping to get a few more minutes. He lay face first into the sheets until Carla came into the room in order to wake the boys up and give Levi more antibiotics and painkillers for his infection.

The boys rolled out of bed silently, trudging downstairs to eat breakfast in relative silence, Levi nibbling on a piece of toast while Eren spooned mouthfuls of cereal into his mouth while helping to make sure Mikasa was eating her own cereal. Levi watched over the family with mild interest, but most of the time he was lost in his own thoughts, wondering what exactly was going to happen with him.

 

* * *

 

 

Levi shut the door on Carla's dark purple minivan, Eren just behind him as he climbed out of the other side. "Alright, I'll be back to pick you boys up when I'm done grocery shopping. Have fun." She smiled that warm smile of hers, gave a little wave, and then drove off. Levi sighed and looked back at his house, scratching his neck awkwardly. It felt weird going inside now. Now that there was no real danger lurking inside, except maybe a couple of cats that would be begging for his attention.

They had just come from the police station where they filed an official report and Levi gave an official statement, but Kyle had been arrested the night prior and would be stripped of his custody of Levi and thrown into jail. Levi was told he'd spend at least six months rotting in that place, but somehow it just didn't seem like enough. After 10 years of abusing Levi, all he got was six months in a dirty cell. Levi wished he would have gotten at least a year, but that was the maximum of his sentence. He was also informed that he could put a restraining order on his father, which Levi fully intended to do. From now until he turned 19, his Uncle Kenny would be considered his legal guardian.

"Soo... this is my house." Levi announced to Eren a little awkwardly, motioning at the two-story house. It was obvious that it had once been a nice house, but the pretty light blue it had once been had faded drastically and it was beginning to look older and more worn. Inside, there were empty beer bottles and broken glass everywhere along with food scattered along the floor. He scrunched his nose. "This house is fucking disgusting, I wasn't gone that long." Normally, Levi worked to keep the house immaculate.

Eren looked around the house as he followed Levi inside, the scent of alcohol hitting his nose strongly and he kept in his cough. It seemed like it would be a nice home without all the garbage and the junk lying around. It definitely wasn't Levi's way of living he's noticed. There weren't many pictures of decorations on the wall he seemed to notice, or they've been taken down or broken.

They walked up the stairs, Levi silent through the entire time until they reached a door. "Is this your room?" He asked. He could only guess. Before Levi could really say anything, there was a meow from off to the side and Eren looked to see a fluffy, brown and black cat making it's way over to Eren quite excitedly, rubbing against his leg as it meowed. Eren smiled before bending down to pick it up, which it didn't seem to mind. "Is this one of your cats?"

Levi raised an eyebrow at the fluffy creature that passed right by him to rub against Eren. "Tch. No, that's my dog." He told Eren sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "That's Isabel. She likes attention. And this," He walked over to the bed where a fat light orange tabby sat, flicking his tail back and forth as he watched the two boys, "is Farlan. He's a lazy cat." Levi explained, rubbing at the tabby's ears which earned him a purr from the creature. He smiled faintly.

Don't be rude." He said back and watched as Levi smiled at his pet before returning his attention back to the one in his hands who seemed to like him. "I think she likes me?" He said questioningly and placed her down. She trotted over and jumped up on the bed to rub her face against Levi's hand.

He moved to look around Levi's room. Just like the walls in the house, there weren't many pictures hung up. But there was one. He walked over to it and he noticed it was the one he had won the contest with. "You have this picture hanging up too?" He asked with a smile, his eyes roaming around before he caught a glimpse at what looked to be the school comics.

"Looks like. She doesn't get to socialize as much as she wants since the only people who have ever been here are Hanji and Erwin." He told Eren, scratching at the spot on Isabel's chin that she loved to have scratched. He didn't pay any mind to Eren until he spoke again, Levi glimpsed at one of the few pictures he had hung up in his room. "Yeah. It's been hanging there since I first saw it." He admitted, standing up and walking over besides Eren.

Eren raised his eyebrows, looking over at Levi. "Well, I mean I knew you liked it, but I didn't know you liked it /that/ much." There was a faint smile on his face as he turned back to look at it. "I'm glad that you liked it though. At least someone did." He walked over to Levi's cats, sitting hesitantly on the bed only for the other cat, Farlan, to get up and slowly make his way over to Eren's lap where he sat back down.

Levi's gazed thoughtfully at the familiar picture he now recognized as Eren's mother, twisting one of the rings in his ears absentmindedly like he so often did. "Yeah, I liked your technique." He mused. The only other art of the wall was a few pictures of other artists he liked, and the only other picture in the room was one of him and his mother, it sat in a picture frame on his bedside table. His mother had long raven black hair that was silky like Levi's, and light blue eyes that contrasted his stormy gray ones. She was slender and rather short like he was. Levi looked more like his mother then he ever had his father, even their facial features were almost the same, but hers were just a bit more feminine. 

That was the first time had ever told Eren that they liked his art besides his teacher and friends. He didn't really count his friends if he was honest.

Eren continued to stroke the cat on his lap while he looked around. There was a picture on the bedside table and he reached over to grab it for a better look. It was Levi in the picture with a woman that looked exactly like him. He could only guess that it was Levi's mother. There was something itching in the back of Eren's mind like he had seen this woman before. She felt familiar and he didn't know why.

"Is this your mom?"                                                

Levi nodded, moving back to sit on the bed next to Eren and Isabel jumped up into his lap with an indignant meow, he stroked the fluffy cat idly. "Yeah. Her name was Kuchel." He said quietly, his mind drifting towards the few memories he actually had of her. He only knew her name because the few times Levi had talked to his Uncle Kenny.

He had only two memories of her, they were small and very brief and he could not remember them clearly. In the first, he had fallen and his mother was comforting him with a big smile as she tended to his bleeding knees and hands. The second, he remembered being curled up on the couch in her side, she read a book to him he could not remember. He couldn't remember her voice, the memories were like blurry silent movies, incomplete. But he held onto them dearly.

There was a smile on Eren's face as he glanced at Levi. "She's beautiful. You look a lot like her." He looked at it once more, engraving the picture into his mind before setting it back down on the table. "Do you have any memories of her? Well, if you don't mind my asking. You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable with it. I totally understand." He didn't want to push Levi into talking about something he knew would be a touchy subject.

There was just a lot about Levi that Eren didn't know, but he wanted to. He just wasn't sure where to start.

He shrugged, staring at the fluffy creature in his lap. She could sense Levi's wariness and she made a strange sound that almost sounded like a warble and she rubbed up against his chest. He couldn't help but smile a little bit. "I have a couple, but they are pretty fuzzy." he admits, glancing over at the picture Eren had set on the table. Even though he never really knew her, sometimes Levi missed her. This was one of those rare moments where he felt a pang of grief, but it was gone as quick as it had come.                                                

"Would you mind sharing them? I'd like to hear them, if you don't mind." Eren said gently. He hoped that maybe thinking of happy memories with his mother would help lift his spirits. Eren didn't know how much of a long shot this was, but it was worth a try. His hand reached over to scratch at Isabel's head as Farlan jumped off his lap and laid on the carpet in front of their feet.

"Tch. Lazy cat." Levi murmured affectionately towards the orange beast, momentarily not acknowledging Eren's words. He wasn't sure he wanted to forfeit those memories to someone else, somehow he felt as if he would lose them if he spun them into words. It was an idea he couldn't bear. "Maybe another time." He said quietly, looking over at Isabel who was now in Eren's lap and reaching over to scratch behind her ear.                            

"That's okay. I understand." He gave a little smile to Levi and returned to Isabel in his lap. "Is she always this friendly?" He asked, smiling when she looked up at him and meowed and she nuzzled her face into Levi's hand before meowing once again. Farlan was watching them, a lazy look on his face. "I really like your cats."

A smirk pulled at the corner of Levi's lips. "She usually isn't this friendly with anyone but me. They haven't gotten to socialize a whole lot. No one has ever been to this house except Hanji and Erwin when they decide they need some exercise." He scoffed. Sometimes he wondered how Erwin even managed to fit his broad ass shoulders through it.

"Well I'm pretty sure that Mikasa will like them for the time being that you're at our house. She loves animals though we haven't got one ourselves. I might get her a puppy or something for her birthday but that's still kind of a ways away. They seem like good pets." Isabel jumped off of his lap and he watched as she walked over to Farlan, playing with his tail as it swung back and forth only to be attacked by Farlan himself. She ran away, Farlan running after her until she was hiding under Levi's desk.

There was a silence between the two of them as they sat on the bed, watching the cats interact with each other. Eren wouldn't say it was an uncomfortable or tense silence like the kind they've had in class before. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out to find a message from his mom. She would be there to pick them up in about fifteen minutes.

"My mom said she should be here in fifteen minutes."

Levi watched the furry creatures with an amused look on his face. They were strange, and he could never quite understand how such a lazy cat could manage to run for that long. Sure enough, a few seconds later Farlan collapsed on the outskirts of his room as if he were exhausted and began to lick at his pale orange coat. Levi snickered.

"Alright. I'll grab some clothes then." He stood from the bed, stretched his arms out and grabbed a backpack, taking out some of his carefully folded clothes and placing them inside. He went into the bathroom and grabbed his necessities like his toothbrush. He put a few more art supplies in his school bag and grabbed a few of Isabel and Farlan's toys, putting them inside of a plastic bag before placing them in his backpack with his clothes and he placed their food bag near the front door so he could grab it on their way out. They still had at least five more minutes before Carla would arrive to pick them up and Levi glanced around the disgusting house.

"I'm coming back here to clean before the weekend ends." He announced aloud, scrunching his nose at the putrid smell of the alcohol.

Eren smiled a little at his announcement and watched as Isabel followed Levi around wherever he went and Farlan just laid on the ground, watching. It made him want his own pets even more, but he knew that his dad wouldn't allow it. Among lots of other things. His attention was turned back to his phone as he received a text from one of his friends asking if he wanted to hang out. On the weekend when he couldn't.

"I could come help you." Eren said after a minute, looking up from his phone. "Well, if you wanted the help."                                                                                                    

Levi grimaced at the stained couch. he had been considering sitting on it, but at second thought it wasn't such a great idea. "No, it's fine. You probably couldn't clean at my standards, anyways." He commented as casually as he told Eren about his cats. Most could not clean as well as he liked, he didn't expect Eren to be any different.

Eren probably should have taken offense to that statement, but he didn't. Instead he let out a laugh. "Well, I mean my dad is a doctor and I have a five year old sister. I kind of know how to clean pretty well."

"Well, you could try but I doubt you'd meet my standards." Levi told him, leaning against the wall and pinching his nose in disgust to try and block out the rancid smell of fridge food let out, probably since he'd last been here, and alcohol. It truly was disgusting.

Eren raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Well what exactly are your standards? I'm just trying to offer a little help is all." He didn't want to make Levi mad so he left it as it was. Isabel jumped up on the couch, climbing to the top and she meowed at him for attention. Eren looked over at Levi as he stroked her head

"Tch. If you come with me later I'll show you." He shook his head, inspecting his nails idly and noticing some dirt underneath. He would scrub them clean as soon as they got back to Eren's house. 

Eren was happy to oblige. For some reason he didn't like the idea of Levi being back in this house alone.

His mom came soon enough, Eren grabbing Isabel while Levi took hold of Farlan. "Yay! Mr. Grumpy Elf has a kitty!" He smiled at his sister as he slid into the back seat, allowing Levi to choose where he wanted to sit after Eren helped him put his things in the trunk of the minivan, careful of the bags of food.

"He actually has two." He caught Carla's smile in the rearview mirror, a look on her face that he couldn't quite read.

Levi rolled his eyes at the little girl as he slid into the van beside Eren. "Is that the best you can do, kid?" He remarked, clipping his seat belt before Farlan collapsed on his lap, rubbing up against Levi's stomach and purring. They had never really left home, so he wasn't sure how they would do being away from it for an entire week.                                                                                                    

"Mama hat er zwei Katzen!" [Mommy, he has two cats!] Mikasa said cheerfully, holding two fingers up. "Ich möchte eine Katze! Mama kann haben wir eine Katze?" [I want a cat! Mommy can we have a cat?] Eren snorted at the question, knowing the answer already himself. It would be enough just to keep these two cats at the house for a week. His father was already against pets enough.

He put Isabel on the seat next to him only for her to climb back into his lap and place her paws on the windowsill to look out the window. He scratched her head and she meowed, catching Mikasa's attention. "I wanna pet a kitty!"                                                

Levi gave the smallest of smiles and leaned over, holding Farlan in his arms and holding him out towards Mikasa who gave an excited squeal and patted Farlan's head a little roughly. "Be gentle or I won't let you touch him." Levi warned and she nodded, using a hand to clumsily strong the orange tabby.

"What is the kitty's name?" She asked, scratching behind his ear.

"Farlan." She scrunched her nose.

"Weird name."

"It is not." Levi scoffed.

"Is too." She counted back quickly. Eren loved the smile on her face as she patted Farlan's head. Cats were her favorite animal, but every time she would ask for one, it had always been turned down. He had been thinking of getting her a cat for her birthday coming up if he could persuade his father enough for it.

Eren loved watching the interaction between Levi and Mikasa, his sister being the friendly outdoors child that she was as she bantered with Levi, someone Eren would have never thought he would ever become friends with or ever think would have a soft side like Levi's. He would be honest and say that he liked it. It was nice. A change for lack of a better word. Of course he had been intimidated by Levi the first time he had met the other boy and was paired up with him, and it definitely took some warming up, but Eren had a feeling that they would make good friends. At least he hoped so.

"Tch. At least it doesn't have some dumb name like Mr. Fluffypants." He scoffed, rolling his eyes at the little girl, and then turning to Eren. "Eren, if you guys ever get a cat don't let her name it something dumb." He mused. he hated it when people named their animals ridiculous names. If you wouldn't give your kid that name, then don't give your animal that name.

Eren laughed. "She's five Levi. Don't put a limit to her imagination."

"Who's Levi?" Mikasa asked, looking up from Farlan. Eren snorted, smacking a hand over his mouth. The fact that she was genuinely confused at who Levi was made it all the more amusing and he smiled behind his hand, looking over at Levi.                                                                                                    

Levi scoffed and looked down at the black haired little girl, disbelief passing over his features.

" _I'm_ Levi." He responded, looking over at Eren. "What is this? She doesn't even know my name." He scoffed as if it were Eren's fault.

Eren held up his hands. "Not my fault you never properly introduced yourself to her." He let out an airy laugh at the confusion that was etched across Mikasa's face.

"No." She said slowly. "You're Mr. Elf. You can't be two people at one time. I'm not dumb." She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms in a sassy way. Eren's jaw dropped. Mikasa never did that to anyone and the fact that she had done it to Levi made it all the more entertaining.

He would have said something if his mother hadn't beat him to it. "Mikasa, schön. Sollten Sie wissen besser als das zu tun. Das ist nicht sehr schön, was zu tun ist." [Mikasa, be nice. You should know better than to do that. That's not a very nice thing to do.] Mikasa looked down at stubbornly at her feet that she kicked together. "Sagen Sie bedauern." [Say you're sorry.]

Eren waited for her to say something, looking up at Levi with puppy dog eyes and her lip stuck out. "I'm sorry."

Levi let out a small laugh of disbelief and looked over at Eren. "What is this? What are you?" He rolled his eyes and adjusted himself so he was facing the little girl.

"My name is Levi, not Mr. Elf, kid. Unbelievable. And you better keep that tongue in your mouth or it might fall out." He warned her with an air of mock seriousness.

Eren scoffs, feigning a bit of hurt. "I am just a human boy with hurt emotions." He places a hand over his heart dramatically, laughing at Levi's eye roll.

"I'm not a kid." She pouted. "If you're not going to be Mr. Grumpy Elf then I'm not a kid." She turned around in her seat to look at Eren who raises an eyebrow at her. "Your friend is being mean to me." She stuck out her bottom lip, making Eren arch his brow even more.

"Ihr Freund wird, bedeuten für mich. Machen ihn zu stoppen." [And what do you want me to do about it?]

"Make him stop." She pouts again and turns back around, her arms crossed once again.

He looks over at Levi. "I have been informed to tell you to stop."

"Tch. You are a kid. Now be quiet and pet the cat." He'd roll his eyes and Farlan would totally climb up into Mikasa's lap and curl up there because she is petting him really gently and he is absolutely loving the attention.

"Sorry I have to stay at your guys' house but Kenny doesn't want me at the house alone." Which Levi really didn't understand. He'd pretty much lived alone for ten years, his dad just happened to be there. If anything, the house was safer now than it ever was before.

"Oh it's not a problem at all. We've always had a spare bedroom. No need to apologize. We're always happy to have the company. We can always figure out some other minor details later when we get home but you just need to worry about making yourself comfortable. If you're not comfortable with staying at our house then I'm sure we can work out something else." She looked at him through the mirror with a kind smile before focusing back on the road.

Eren liked the idea of Levi staying at their house but he wasn't entirely sure why. He decided to dwell on it later. Mikasa fell asleep soon enough since his mother had forgotten to run a couple errands and Farlan was fast asleep with her. Once they were home he made sure to put Isabel inside the house while Levi had taken Farlan from Mikasa's lap and he picked her up gently, her cheek squishing into his shoulder. With the free arm he had once he had her secure enough, he grabbed some of the grocery bags from the back and made his way into the house, Isabel curiously following his feet.

"Eren, be careful. Here, let me take her."

"No it's okay mom, I got her." He said and gave Levi a smile. "Thanks for helping Levi. I'll be back after I lay her down."

Carla let out a sigh. "What am I going to do with him?" She smiled again at Levi. "Thank you for your help Levi. It's very appreciated."

He just shrugged. "I didn't do anything." Was his reply as they made their way inside, Lei setting his bags on the counter and anxiously twisting at his lip ring. It all happened so fast... a piece of him felt like it was all a dream. Maybe in a few minutes he would wake up, his father downstairs and yelling at the t.v... but he really didn't want to wake up to that. He really did hope this wasn't a dream.                                                                                                    

"I was thanking you for helping bringing in the bags. Would you like to help me prepare dinner? Eren should be down and I'll have him help as well." Her voice was gentle as she talked to Levi, putting away the food in the bags as she kept the items that she needed out on the counter. Soon enough Eren was down, helping putting things away in higher up places.

"What are you even making for dinner tonight?" He asked. It was a bit later than he had expected to be home, but food sounded great to him as it would to any growing teenage boy.

"I was thinking a casserole. Would you and Levi like to help?"

"Um, sure." Levi agreed. He had never been one for cooking, but if he was going to stay here for free he might as well do some cooking and cleaning, definitely cleaning. He could see dust on the lampshades... it was like that one thought switched a gear in his mind and suddenly every surface seemed dirty and needed to be washed. But he knew that was ridiculous, it wasn't his house and that was considered rude. he couldn't just wipe out a washcloth and start cleaning their entire house, as tempting as it was.

"But what kind of casserole?" Eren asked. "Last time it didn't turn out very well." He laughed when she hit his arm playfully.

"That was when I was first learning, you hush."

He laughed again. "And you didn't make it ever since. Are you sure this is a good idea?" He loved to tease her as much as she teased him. It was the kind of playful relationship he didn't have with his father, but he was fine with that. They hadn't ever been on great terms ever since he had declared that he wanted Eren to become a doctor, something that he had no plans of doing at all in his future.

"It'll be fine. Trust me," she gave his ear a small tug, "I'm a doctor. And I have a recipe sheet." She assigned Levi to cutting vegetables with Eren while she prepared the oven, looking over the directions as she did so.

Levi gave both Eren and Carla slightly nervous look. "As long as you're a better cook than me we should be safe. I can't cook to save my life." He snorted, remembering the time he'd tried to make pasta. It had been one of the most disgusting things he'd ever eaten.

Eren looked over with a smile and laughed a little. "That's how she was before we adopted Mikasa. It was /terrible/ and some of the funniest stuff ever. I used to do all the cooking because I actually knew what I was doing," he dodged the towel whip from his mother with a laugh, "and so usually she makes dinner and I make breakfast, but she's usually gone by the time I'm awake so it's just Mikasa and I. Sometimes Armin if he's early enough. Maybe if I'm lucky then she'll let me cook dinner one night."

"That's usually when your father's in a terrible mood and he's wanting something decent to eat for dinner."

"Ow, my pride." He'd feign hurt, glancing over at Levi from the corner of his eye.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards a bit, amused by their display. Yet, again, he felt a small pang of envy and jealousy. He wished he had a mother to cook him meals, even if they were terrible. Someone to bicker with. Hell, even a father who gave a sh*t would have been nice. Somehow, watching them made him more aware than ever of the gaping hole inside of him, a hole he knew could never be filled.

"Tch. From the sounds of it, you aren't a very good cook, Eren."

Carla smiled at the two of them, happy at the fact that they had seemed to be getting along. She was happy that Eren had made a new friend other than Armin and a couple other kids from his class at school. Levi was a twist. But a good twist that Eren seemed to need.

Eren scoffed. "Aren't you supposed to be on _my_ side?" He asked with a playful grin. "And besides, would you believe me if I said that my cooking is as good as my art?"

The raven haired boy rolled his eyes. "Who said I was supposed to be on your side? And no, I honestly don't believe that at all." He didn't even hesitate, the answer was obvious. Eren's artwork was excellent, and somehow he doubted any of the boy's other skills could amount to the level of his art.

Eren placed a hand over his chest. " _Ow_ my _pride_. I thought we were supposed to be friends." He dragged a finger down his cheek in mock of an invisible tear. "But contrary to your beliefs, Mr. Ackerman, I am a pretty good cook, okay? I'll have to show you some time." He shot Levi a smile, looking up at his mother as she shook her head at the two of them.

Levi looked at Carla, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "Would it kill me if I ate his food?" She laughed in response and shook her head.

"Of course not or I wouldn't let Mikasa eat the breakfast he makes ever."

"Alright then."

"See?" He turned to Levi, pointing at him with a playful smile on his face. "I'm not as horrible at cooking as you think I am. Maybe if my mom will let me make dessert, then I'll show you my skills in the kitchen." He wiggled his fingers in front of Levi's face before realizing what he was doing and pulling away. "I'm such a strange person, I'm sorry."

"That you are." Carla agreed, earning a glare from Eren before he made his way upstairs as he heard Mikasa calling for him. "He is a good cook though. He has talent with his hands, he's just not the best person with his feet. He can be quite clumsy at times."

"I've noticed. The kid practically waves in the wind when he walks. That could be because he's so tall though." He squinted up at Eren as if the sun were in his eyes and he was having difficulty seeing up that high. There wasn't _that_ much of a height difference, but it was definitely noticeable.

She laughed a little at that. "I'm not sure where he got that height from, seeing that he's taller than both Grisha and I. It suits him I think. Everything that's a little different about him all adds up to make the special, warmhearted person that he is. Some people have asked him if he wears contacts." She smiled at the memory of her seven year old son coming up to her and asking what contacts were.

Her eyes looked over at Levi as he was cutting vegetables. There was an obvious height difference between them, and it was cute. What Levi lacked in height, he made up in muscle and build compared to Eren. It was a nice contrast.

Levi gave an amused little huff but didn't say anything. He was practically waiting for someone to crack a short joke. He had never grown very tall, but from what little his uncle had told him about his mother, she hadn't been much taller than Levi was. The black haired boy had finished growing when he was in middle school and he had quickly learned to use his speed and others underestimating him to his advantage.

Eren came back into the kitchen, carrying Mikasa on his back as she pointed forward with one hand while the other clutched a teddy bear. "Onward horsey! Go!" Eren laughed, picking her up off his back, setting her on her feet.

"Did you have a nice nap sweetheart?" Carla asked as Mikasa walked over to hug her legs with a nod. "Why don't you go read in the living room while big brother and I finish making dinner and maybe he'll go read to you after we're done." She gave a smile and a nod before walking to the living room as Eren returned to his station next to Levi.

"What lies did she tell you about me?" He asked jokingly, cracking his knuckles more out of habit than anything as he continued cutting the vegetables.

"Who was telling lies?" Levi raised a single pierced eyebrow at Eren. "Not a word was said while you were gone." He found it amusing how quickly Eren jumped to that conclusion, however.

Eren found his eyes roaming around to every piercing on Levi's face. They were intriguing for lack of a better word. He's never really met someone with piercings as Levi had, unless he wanted to count Sasha who just had her ears pierced, but that was a common thing among girls. Levi's were different and he found that he liked the way they looked. A lot.

He looked away casually, lifting a shoulder in a limp shrug. "I don't believe you." He teased a little. Knowing his mother, she probably would have said something to Levi, and hopefully it was nothing too terrible.

"Tch. Are you calling me a liar, brat?" He turned his full attention on the taller boy, turning and leaning against the counter to regard him. Damn. Why did the brunette have to be so tall?

"Well I ain't calling you a truther." He laughed a little at himself before peeking over at Levi. If he was honest, he kind of like the height difference between the two of them. "I was just kidding Levi, I promise." He turned his attention to Levi as well, a little grin on his face. "Have I ever lied to you?"

He shrugged. "How should I know? Your grammar certainly is dreadful." Little did the other boy know that Levi was a 4.0 student and the co-valedictorian of the senior class. Most people didn't realize it either.

Eren scoffed. "Well seeing that that I'm on my way for valedictorian or co-valedictorian, my grammar is pretty great. Both English and German. I don't take a senior AP English class as a junior for no reason." He walked over, handing all the cut vegetables to his mother before turning to wash his hands in the sink across from Levi. "But I mean, next to Armin and Marco, odds are I'm going to be co-co-valedictorian. Which is totally fine because it's still a valedictorian title."

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that even a thing? If that's the case then I suppose Hanji would be the co-co-valedictorian of senior class." It was ironic how the top students tended to lump together. Honestly though, nobody expected Hanji to be a top student either.

"Wouldn't she be co-valedictorian next to Erwin who is valedictorian? I mean, there isn't anyone else is there? If there's a runner up for Erwin for senior class, I would love to meet the. And shake their hand because Erwin is like the smartest person that I know next to Armin. It would be kinda difficult to beat him."

"Tch." Levi leaned against the counter, fixing Eren with his grey gaze and idly playing with one of the rings in his ear. "You're looking at him."

Eren was rendered a bit speechless. "Oh my god, really?" He would be honest and say that he did kind of feel bad about what he said, kind of bashing down on Levi and thinking that he didn't care that much for his grades. "That's awesome." Ere couldn't help but smile. "I didn't know that."                                                                                                    

"Most people think that because I have piercings and I'm an asshole, my grades must look like shit. I've had 4.0 all four years." He idly picked at a few specks of dirt underneath his fingernails, contemplating where he should start cleaning when they got back to his house later.

"Okay, I'd beg to differ with the a**hole part, but that just means you can surprise everyone at graduation. I just think that it's really cool that you've kept a 4.0 every year. I think that I had a 3.8 or something my freshman year but that's about it. I'm not even sure what I have right now honestly. You think you could help me with my calculus homework? Are you even in calculus?"

"I took calculus last year, so probably. How can you say I'm not an asshole. Have you met me?" His expression remained fairly placid as usual, but he cocked an eyebrow as his eyes looked up, but considering they were level with Eren's shoulders he couldn't quite see his face and he looked back down at his nails.

Eren gave a small laugh. "Well obviously I've met you and I'm saying you're not an asshole. Jean's an a**hole. You're not Jean." Carla rolled her eyes at Eren's comparison, leaving the kitchen for a second to go check on Mikasa. "If you took calculus last year then what are you taking now for a math class? And you're serious about helping me? I'm behind a couple assignments because I've been so lost."

Levi didn't care or ask about who this Jean guy was. From the sounds of it, they didn't get along and honestly Levi couldn't care less. "I'm not. I've taken five years of math, they don't offer anything higher than Calculus at our school. But I might as well while I'm here."

"Wow. Well thanks for that enthusiasm. You can help me after dinner. It would probably be the most ideal time. Or after Mikasa is put to bed because I'm sure she's going to want to join us with whatever we're doing. And maybe you could help me with that art assignment? We're supposed to be making a comic or something and I'm no good with cartoons. I mean... I'm decent at them but Mrs. Huber said if I had questions then I should ask you."

He shrugged. "Fine with me. When we're done I'm going to walk to my house and clean it up. It is disgusting." His expression crinkled ever so slightly along the edges, giving away the utter disgust as he merely thought about the state in which it had been left. The food hadn't been out that long yet, but soon enough it would be and he would have no hope of getting the smell out.

Eren found Levi's look of disgust strangely cute. His nose and corners of his eyes wrinkling as he did and he had to pry his eyes away before he was caught staring.

"Do you want me to come and help? I don't know if my mom would feel comfortable if you went alone, but then again it is your house."

Levi shrugged. "If you want. You can hold the trash bag open." He was very particular on his cleaning. Certain surfaces were cleaned a certain way with specific products, and nothing was skipped out on. Levi wasn't someone to ever do anything half-a**ed. He couldn't see the point in half-assing anything.

"You must be very... meticulous with your cleaning." Eren said with a little laugh. "But I'll help in any way that I can." He didn't really want to leave Levi alone. It sounded a bit strange, he realized. Even though they had only been friends for a week or two, he found that he was particularly fond of Levi and he didn't know why.

Once dinner was ready, they ate silently, Mikasa rambling about whatever it was that she often rambled about, going in and out between German in her sentences. It made Eren laugh a little and his mother smile at her. She had even tried to involve Levi in her conversation, which sadly for him he got the German side of those sentences.

Levi wasn't sure how he felt. It was strange, eating with anyone who wasn't Erwin and Hanji. Even though he'd already eaten a meal with the family, somehow he still felt distant and lonely as he watched them smiling and laughing with one another, talking about the smallest things that Levi never imagined he would talk about with another, they were so minor and menial.

He couldn't help but feel pangs of jealousy watching them interact with their loving mother, waiting for their caring father to come home to them and tuck them in. He knew his thoughts were childish and fruitless, but he could not stop them. Even when they attempted to include him, all he felt was a hollow feeling inside. It wasn't fair.

So he spent most of the meal quietly eating his food and listening to them as they switched between German and English so easily. He vaguely wondered if his mother had spoken any foreign languages. Maybe she had, but he couldn't be sure.

"I'll clean up." He finally spoke aloud awkwardly. He needed to clean to get his mind off of things. Sure, he was planning to go to his house and clean after this, but why not start now?

Carla was a bit surprised by the gesture but she smiled and nodded anyways, not wanting to upset him anymore than he already seemed to be. "That's very kind of you Levi, thank you." She took Mikasa into the other room, Eren offering to help clean off the table while Levi did the dishes. It was quiet, Eren trying to think of something to say to get rid of the silence but he couldn't think of anything.

"So... you must like cleaning?" He cursed himself for being so awkward but it was the only thing that he could think of to say.

"I don't necessary like cleaning, I just hate anything less than clean." Levi explained as he scrubbed at the dishes before him. It was a good distraction, something that was routine, orderly and kept him moving. It was almost comforting to repeat the same actions, the results were calming. He hated disorder and filth, cleaning was a solution.

Eren stopped to think about that. "Isn't... wouldn't that just be the same thing?" He asked, his eyebrows pinched together slightly before he went back to cleaning the table off. He wasn't much of a fan of cleaning, it wasn't his number one priority. The only thing he liked keeping clean and organized was his desk and art supplies. Those were the only things that really matter to him in the sense of being cared for.

"Not at all. Cleaning just happens to be the solution. The problem and the solution are two very different things." He turned to glance at Eren briefly before he returned and finished the last plate. He dried them and searched for their proper places. He had no idea where they kept anything in this house.                                                                                                    

"They go in the cabinet to the left. Top shelf." Eren walked over as Levi opened the cabinet and he suppressed a laugh. Taking the plate from Levi's hand carefully, he placed it where it belonged, along with the rest of them. "We keep them there so that Mikasa can't get a hold of them if she were to climb the counter or something." He moved away from Levi awkwardly. "Cups go on the bottom shelf and I can put the silverware away."

 "Ah... Why would your sister be on the counter?" He asked as he put the cups away. That was a weird place for a five-year-old to be. Plus she was so short, how did she reach?”

"She's an active kid. Loves running around and climbing and anything physical. Her favorite movie is Karate Kid. It's kind of strange if you ask me. She's never been on the counter before but she's getting taller and more curious and self dependent about things so even if she is a bit short, even if she climbs on the counter she can't reach the plates. You'd be surprised by how much strength such a small human like her has." He laughed to himself.

He pulled out a water bottle from the fridge handing one to Levi. "She's a weird kid, but I love her all the same anyways. She is my little sister."

Levi finished putting the cups away and leaned back against the counter, the palms of his hands resting on the edge with his elbows bent behind him. He cocked his head to the side as he fixed his gaze on the other boy. "I see. I never understood little kids, I never had siblings or cousins or anything." As far as Levi knew, the only family he had left was Kenny.

"All my other family is in Germany. It's where my parents both came from. They moved here together, met some people in college and settled down before having me. We often visit them during Christmas break and sometimes during the summer. All my cousins are up there, I have almost too many of them. They're a crazy bunch, both sides are." He smiled at some of the memories of he and his cousins roaming around in the woods that were behind his grandparent's house whenever they visited. They still did, even as they grew older into teenagers.

"My dad had thought about moving back to Germany but I refused to move so we stayed here. As much as I love it there, I love it here even more. It's where all my friends are." He jumped on the counter, swinging his legs a little. "And I have enough German to deal with here. My best friend speaks it decently fluent and my sister does too. Even if my dad were to move back, I would stay here, probably move in with my best friend."

Eren stared at Levi for a moment after his rambling finished. "Do you speak any other languages?"                                                                                                    

Levi wondered what it was like; to have so much family it was overwhelming, to travel to a foreign country, to speak another language. Then again, he should probably start small and wonder what it was like to have a family at all.

"No, I just speak English. My parents might have spoken another language, but I don't know anything about them." He decided to store that as one of his questions for his uncle once he got here. Despite how distant Kenny was, he was a decent guy and Levi felt the need to grill him for answers while he would be here, probably for the next few months until he turned 18.

Eren couldn't imagine what it would be like to not have any family seeing that he was constantly surrounded by them. He would say though that he is glad they didn't come and visit him here in America. As much as he loved them, they were loud and caused a lot of ruckus.

He couldn't help but feel a little awkward and guilty for bringing it up. "Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up if you're uncomfortable with it."

Levi shrugged. "It doesn't matter." But it did, to him. But this kid didn't need to know that. After this week, he wouldn't be surprised if Eren never talked to him again. He wasn't great company, after all.

"Well, I'm going to head to my house and get to cleaning." He announced suddenly. It wouldn't be dark for a couple more hours and Levi wanted to get it done tonight.

"Do you want any help?" Eren could tell he must have upset Levi in some way and it made him feel bad given everything that's already happened during the weekend.

"I told you that you could hold the trash bag if you really wanted to." Levi replied, not even sparing Eren a glance before grabbing his keys from his bag and heading out the door, swinging the metal pieces around his finger on a ring. If Eren really wanted to come, he would just have to catch up.                                                                                                    

"Mom! We'll be back!" He yelled after making the quick decision to follow Levi. He didn't know why he felt compelled to go with Levi, but he eventually caught up after almost tripping a couple times. He wanted to say something, but his mind couldn't really process something to say. One of the cons being awkward. It wasn't his fault that he was.

"How far away is your house?"

Levi rolled his eyes at that. "We were just there earlier. It's like a fifteen minute walk I think." But that was also an estimation if they were walking at his pace; Levi was not one to saunter or walk slowly. Quick and precise was much more suited to him. It was already getting late after all and even he did not feel like being out all night.

Eren stayed quiet as they walked together, barely keeping up with Levi. He was surprised at how fast he walked but said nothing about it. His eyes were trained on the ground, lost in his thoughts as he thought about the weekend, everything that happened. He wanted to ask questions, but he knew it wasn't his business to try and pry. He could feel his eyebrows narrow at all the negativity Levi had been through. It broke his heart to think about how much hurt and pain Levi had been through when he didn't even deserve it.

Their walk was silent, uncomfortably so, and Levi couldn’t help but be slightly relieved as they arrived at his house. However much he hated this home, he couldn’t help but hate awkward and stifling silences even more. “Take your shoes off at the door.” He told Eren as he unlocked the front door with his key, slipping silently inside. A piece of him couldn’t help but remain quiet instinctively. After all, he was used to being greeted with harsh words and violent advances.

Eren said nothing as he followed Levi’s orders, toeing off his shoes by the door before closing it behind him. It was still, a strange scent filling his nose and he shoved his hands into his front pockets as he followed Levi further into the house.

“So, uh… where do you want to start first?” He spoke up, clearing his throat as he looked around before back at Levi.

 Levi couldn’t help but scrunch his nose in disgust at the sight before him. The kitchen was covered in food that was already beginning to show signs of turning, there were shattered dishes, and dirt all over the floor. The putrid scent of alcohol hung in the air, clinging to him and giving him the desire to gag.

“This place is fucking disgusting. Open all the windows I can’t fucking breathe.” He instructed, making his way to the nearest one and throwing it open without hesitation. It was cold as all hell, but he really couldn’t find it in himself to care.

 Eren walked over to one, unlocking it and pulling it open with a little force but it finally gave way. He moved the blinds and curtains out of the way, allowing the breeze to sift through the room and he walked over to the next window. He flipped the lock, pushing it to open except that it wouldn’t budge. He tried again, the window still not moving. He decided to try and push it open, hardly getting it to move, a yelp leaving his mouth when it finally pushed open and he lost his balance, tumbling to the ground.

 Levi had turned towards the kitchen and raised a brow, twisting slightly to look over his shoulder at a loud thump to see Eren on the floor. He rolled his eyes.

 “Tch. I told you to open the window, not take a nap.” He grumbled, moving forward and stepping over Eren, opening the window with a flourish, pulling the curtains back so they would not trail through the air annoyingly.

 Eren pushed himself up from the ground, fixing his glasses. “Well thanks for the help and concern.” He muttered to himself as he straightened out his clothes. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.” He rubbed his wrist as he followed Levi back into the kitchen where he had come from, looking around as he did so.  

 “It was only a little tumble don’t be dramatic.” Levi replied plainly, rolling up his sleeves as he looked around, pulling a thin white towel from a nearby drawer, tying it behind his head and pulling it up over his mouth. It had become a habit while he was cleaning to keep out any dust and prevent anything from touching his face.

 He reached into the drawer again, this time pulling out a washcloth and tossing it to Eren. “You can start by throwing the food on the table in the trash and then cleaning it off.” He handed Eren a bottle of disinfectant. “Please, use it liberally.” He commented before getting to work on the food covering the floor, throwing anything that still had a substantial state in the trash and wiping up the rest. Once everything else in the kitchen had been cleaned, he would mop the floor as well. Each of his movements were quick, decisive, and precise--almost as if it had been rehearsed.

Eren narrowed his eyes a little, continuing to rub his wrist. He watched Levi clean, astonished by how precise and quick he was with what he did. He shook his head, listening to Levi’s orders and cleaned off the table, listening to his “liberally” command and spraying it down at least three times. It smelled disgusting, the mix of rotting food with cleaner wasn’t the most pleasant smell.

Once he was finished, he rubbed his wrist, looking over at Levi for guidance of what he should do next.

By the time Eren had finished with the table, Levi had wiped the floor and half of the cupboards down spotless. “Go in the closet down the hall and get me my mop.” He told Eren without even glancing up once, sensing the boy’s stare on him.

 “Yes sir.” Eren walked down the hall, opening a couple doors before finding the one that he needed. He dug around a little until finding the mop, tripping a little as he climbed out. He watched a spider climb out after him, a girlish yelp leaving his mouth as he jumped back.

 “Oi, what are you doing over there?” Levi called out at the sound, pausing his ministrations on the cupboards to look around the corner at Eren.

 “Nothing.” Eren squeaked, hitting the spider with the mop, only causing it to run across the wall which resulted in a little scream.

 “Nothing my ass. Stop that or you’re going to leave marks on my wall.” He scowled, marching over and snatching the mop from Eren’s hands. “What are you even swinging at?”

 Eren watched the spider run away, a look of disgust and horror etching across his face. “Nothing.” He replied quickly under his breath, his hand reached up to rub at his wrist again. “Sorry.”

 “Tch.” Levi didn’t believe him in the slightest but let it slide, returning to the kitchen with his mop in tow. He finished wiping the counters, cupboards, fridge, dusting everywhere he could possible reach, climbing on the counter or wherever was necessary in order to reach places too high up. He had a stool but was far too lazy to fetch it.

 While on the outside he appeared emotionless, he was a raging storm on the inside that even the familiar cleaning motions could not quell as they usually did.

He was happy he was no longer placed under the thumb of his father, but at the same time how would he explain everything to Erwin and Hanji? His father was gone, Kenny was coming to live at his house, and he was staying in a near stranger’s home. He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell his two closest friends about the abuse he’d endured for so long. It had been easy for Eren, Carla, Grisha, and Kenny to accepted because they were all practically strangers to him, but Hanji and Erwin had been right by his side, even when he didn’t want them there. Now, he appreciated they had stuck around the foul tempered raven for so long, so how could he tell them such a big secret he had kept hidden from them both for so long?

Eren cleaned quietly, keeping to himself as he listening to Levi’s orders. He found himself often sneaking glances over at Levi, watching him for a few seconds before his attention was turned back to whatever cleaning he had been ordered to do.

“Hey, Levi, I have a question.” He spoke up after a moment, swallowing down the little bit of nerves that had suddenly appeared.

It took Levi several moments to realize Eren had spoken, and even longer to register his words. He had been so lost in his own thoughts, he’d almost forgotten about the brunet.

“What is it?” He finally spoke after a long bout of silence.

“What’s with the cloth on your face? Like… why do you wear it? If you don’t mind my asking, he glanced over at Levi, keeping his eyes on the shorter boy for a moment until he looked over which caused Eren to look away and down at his hands cleaning.

“This?” He pulled up the end of the white cloth he wore just enough that it revealed the tip of his chin. “It keeps dirt, cleaner, and whatever else away from my mouth. If I breathe in any dust I have horrible coughing attacks.”

Levi had been having breathing problems for a couple of years now, especially during the spring and whenever there was a lot of dust around. He figured that he probably had some kind of asthma or something, but it wasn’t like the doctors had ever been an option for him. He had looked up breathing exercises online and did his best to subdue them. 

“Where the fuck did these dishes come from?” He grumbled absentmindedly as he moved to the sink in order to clean the dirty dishes piled up inside.

“Do you not have an inhaler?” Eren asked, walking over to him, coughing a little at the strong scent of bleach that hit his nose. It caused him to sneeze a couple times, waving the air in front of him after turning his head away to sneeze. “Jesus, you don’t mess around with the cleaner, do you? That’s terrible for your lungs.”

He shrugged “I needed to bleach this sink, it’s disgusting.” But he was already well aware it was terrible for his lungs, could already feel his chest tightening and the air barely squeezing through his trachea and struggling to circulate through his lungs.

“And to answer your question, no I have not. Your dad was the first doctor I’ve seen since I was five years old.”

Eren stared blankly at him. “Are you _serious_?” From what Levi had told Eren, it sounded like Levi had some sort of asthma and all the cleaning fumes were probably not helping him in the slightest. He was quick to snatch the bottle of disinfectant and sponge from Levi’s hands and held them out of reach. He held a serious look on his face as he looked at Levi. “We’re going outside for a break.”

“Give me my fucking shit.” He scowled, tempted to jump for the supplies Eren held out of his reach but knew it wouldn’t do any good. “I’m fine. I’ve been doing this for years.” He huffed.

“Too bad. C’mon.” He motioned for Levi to walk forward and out of the kitchen, keeping the supplies out of reach just in case Levi tried to grab them again.

Levi scowled deeply at Eren, wrenching the cloth down and allowing it to hang loosely at his throat as he made his way outside. This was fucking bullshit. “I’m fine, why do you care anyways?” The idea of being cared for was foreign and unfamiliar.

Eren ignored the scowl, setting the supplies down before following Levi and shut the door behind them. He never really thought extensively about his reasons why. There were many different ones that came into play when he thought about it. “Why _shouldn’t_ I care?” Eren countered, crossing his arms and setting a serious look on his face, one that matched his father’s whenever the two of them got into an argument.

“Because you don’t really know me? I can think of a billion reasons. I’m an asshole, you don’t really know me, and there’s no reason for you to care.” Levi shrugged. He had simply accepted  as a fact of life that people didn’t just naturally care for others. There was always some ulterior motive or reason.

“Well, we’re friends right? And friends care about each other, it’s just something that I’ve been raised to do. To help and care for other people even if I don’t know them. Just because I don’t know you like your friends do, doesn’t mean that I can’t care.” Not only that, but he felt the need to care for Levi. Almost as if he should. He couldn’t explain why and he didn’t bother with thinking about it too much other than it was just an instinctive feeling.

“I have learned there is always an ulterior motive with everything in life, or at least a reason. Nobody does anything just _because_.”

“I just gave you a couple reasons. You’re my friend. I do care about you and your well being regardless how long I’ve known you, believe it or not.”

“I don’t understand why.” He replied blatantly, leaning against the house.

“Are you going to let me back in the fucking house or what? It’s fucking cold as balls out here.” He rubbed his arms, bumpy from the goosebumps that had risen there.

Eren shrugged, leaning back against the wall. “If you’re completely honest with telling me that you feel better after getting a little fresh air.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “What are you, my mother? I felt fine from the beginning, now let me in my fucking house.”

He didn’t say anything else after that. Feeling like a nuisance, he opened the door, allowing Levi to push past him. He didn’t know why he felt so bad, but he did and he hated the feeling. Like he was trying too hard to be helpful when that’s the whole reason why he came with Levi, was to provide some kind of help.

Was it a bad thing that he genuinely cared for Levi? As far as Eren knew, they were friends. He wasn’t so sure if Levi would consider him anything else other than the annoying underclassmen who he was unwillingly forced to pair up with in two of his classes during the school day. Levi already had to deal with him enough, maybe he was being too much.

Levi stepped inside with a sigh and immediately went into the kitchen and began to work on cleaning the floor with his mop again. “Eren? Can you go up to my room and pull the bedding off my bed. I want to throw it in the washer.” He called into the other room. He wished that he’d thought of it earlier, maybe he would just leave it in the laundry room until he came back with Kenny.

He nodded, not sure if Levi saw him or not and walked up to Levi’s room. He pushed the door open quietly and he looked around for a moment before walking over to the bed to pull off the bedding like Levi had asked. He made his way downstairs, almost tripping on his way down after his foot got caught on the sheets and he made a little sound of surprise but caught himself anyways before slowly and safely making his way to the washing machine.

He stayed there for a moment, listening to the loud rumble of it in the small room. He was kind of unsure what to do next and he didn’t exactly want to make Levi mad by asking him, feeling like it should be obvious what he should clean next.

He waited in the washer room, flopping the bedding into the dryer. Levi had yet to actually look for him, so he had to guess that Levi probably forgot about him while cleaning. He hopped up on the washer as he waited for the dryer to finish, losing himself in his thoughts and he yelped a little when the bell went off, signaling that it had finished.

Eren pulled the bedding from the dryer, loving the warmth that came from it. He made his way into the hallway blindly as the sheets and blankets blocked his view, causing him to run into the wall. “I got it, I got it!” He called out to no one in particular, only to change his mind when he felt his foot slip on one of the sheets that was hanging too close to the ground. “I don’t got it, I don’t got it!”

Levi snickered as his hands instinctively shot out, grabbing him and preventing his fall. He had just been coming to look for the brunet, wondering where he had disappeared to. “Your grammar sucks.” He teased, but amusement flittered across his face, if only brief.

“No, it doesn't.” He muttered. Their faces were extremely close and Eren’s breath stopped for a moment. He knew that Levi was attractive, he wasn’t about to deny that fact because anyone could clearly see that yes, he was, but Eren had never been this close. It made his cheeks turn a little pink and his heart started to beat rapidly in his chest. He didn’t know why and it honestly freaked him out a little but he didn’t say anything.

“Uh… thanks… for catching me.” His voice was quiet, awkward, as he tried to stand up, his foot still tangled in the sheet, causing him to slip backwards.

Levi’s arms shot out again, this time catching him by the waist and pulling him up, the ghostly traces of a smile dancing across his face. “Your balance sucks too.” But he could not help being amused. He’d never seen anyone trip consecutively like that.

Eren could feel his face flare up as his eyes went wide at the sudden contact and his heart started thumping even faster and harder in his chest. The small, faint smile on his face catching Eren in a trance and he opened his mouth to say something but when nothing came out, he could feel the tips of his ears burn red in embarrassment and he wanted to melt away into the floor or hide his face with the sheets that he had almost tripped on.

“Uh… y-yeah.” He couldn’t help the stutter that left his mouth and he stood up, looking around for his glasses. Of course with his luck he stepped on a fabric softener sheet that drifted into the hallway from the washing room and he fell to the ground. He groaned. Never had he embarrassed himself like that, well at least it had been a couple years since the last time he did in front of a boy. “I hate everything… Where are my glasses?”

A small, barely audible chuckle escaped Levi as be bent over to pick up the discarded glasses. “Looking for these?” He mused with a smirk, bending over to slide them onto Eren’s face gently since he couldn’t seem to even stand on his feet, Levi didn’t trust him to slip the glasses on without taking out at least an eye.

That was the last thing that Eren expected from _Levi._ He wasn’t particularly the nicest person out there, which was why the sudden gesture threw him off guard. But Eren found it strangely… cute. He couldn't help the little sheepish smile that came to his face along with the blush that spread across his cheeks and to the tips of his ears. “T-thanks.” He cursed himself for stuttering, looking away from Levi as he was careful to not trip for the fourth time in a row.

They made their way into the living room, Levi actually deciding to help Eren. He figured that Levi was just worried Eren would end up breaking something or himself, which it was possible in this house. The silence between them was comfortable, better than the stiff, awkward silence they shared walking over. Eren couldn’t help but smile a little to himself. Cleaning was a lot better than he gave credit for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment with any feedback/kudos if you enjoyed it!
> 
> Our tumblrs:  
> http://thy-undertaker.tumblr.com/  
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	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, um, okay... it's been way too long since the last update. Everyone has been so supportive and we really appreciate it and it helps us a lot. Thy_Undertaker and I are graduating from high school in two days and things have been crazy hectic these past couple months with dealing with school and other personal things in our lives. 
> 
> We can't express how apologetic we are about how late this update is and hopefully since we should be getting out of school shortly, there will hopefully be a more constant flow of updates during the summer before we head off to college. Thank you so much for your support and patience!

“Eren, you never answered your phone over the weekend, did you die or something?” Eren was jerked from this thoughts during their study period, glancing over at Jean who sat next to him. Sasha snorted, rolling her eyes at Jean’s statement. 

Eren raised an eyebrow, shaking his head as he adjusted his glasses on his nose. “What? No, I didn’t die.  _ Obviously _ . Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, dumbass. I was just busy with some things at home.” Which wasn’t a lie. Now that Levi would be staying with them for a week until his uncle showed up. He wanted to make sure that Levi didn’t feel like he was in the way or something, seeing that he had been a little reluctant on staying with him in the first place. 

Levi had asked to walk to school alone that morning, and Eren being the person that he was, allowed him to do so with some regrets that followed after, but they faded away when he saw Levi with his friends as Eren arrived. He wanted to walk over and say something, but when Levi glanced over at him with his stoic, uninterested gaze, Eren immediately chickened out and looked away, a couple people pushing him out of the way and he sighed and walked up the stairs to meet his friends in the library as they did every morning. 

Not much had been exchanged between the two of them after they finished cleaning Levi’s house, he wasn’t much of a talkative person and Eren felt too awkward to try and create a conversation as much as he wanted to. The previous night, Eren woke to find Levi crying once again and he didn’t bother with asking why and crawled into the bed without hesitation to help him fall asleep. 

Eren was sure that was the reason why Levi wanted to walk to school alone, but he couldn’t be sure and he didn’t want to persist on it. It was obvious enough that Levi wasn’t a big fan of Eren, not that many people really were fond of him for whatever reason.

“What did you want anyways?” Eren asked, turning the subject away from himself. 

“Connie and I were going to go egg someone’s house and you haven’t been out with us in a while, Connie said that you needed to loosen up.”

Eren rolled his eyes, pulling his sketchbook  from his backpack to continue a sketch of a little girl playing in the rain that he had started a couple nights ago and he glanced up at Sasha who shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I am loose enough, thank you very much.”

Jean snorted, propping his elbow up on the desk and he rested his cheek against his palm with a raised eyebrow.  _ “Oh, _ are you now? Please, elaborate.” Eren could hear the smirk in his voice and he rolled his eyes once again. 

“Get your mind out of the gutter Jean, jesus.” 

He laughed, turning to Sasha as he began to ramble and Eren returned back to his thoughts. If he was honest, he wasn’t really looking forward to going to his art class, mostly because Levi sat in front of him and he was positive that Levi didn’t want to see him, considering that Levi was going to be seeing him quite a bit outside of school for the week. 

As he made his way to his next class, it was inevitable that Reiner and Bert would get a hold of him. Eren was just hoping that it would be after lunch when he could just skip and go home, leaving Levi to question him when he arrived back at Eren’s house, if he even decided to go back. For all Eren knew, he could be deciding to stay at his friend’s house so he doesn’t have to deal with Eren. 

He wouldn’t put it past Levi. 

“Can’t you guys wait until, like… after lunch or during lunch or something? That would be smartest, don’t you think?” Eren knew it wasn’t smart to try and talk his way out of it, probably earning him a double beating that day. He tried stepping around them or even turning around but if there was one in front of him, the other was definitely behind him. 

Reiner shoved him, knocking his books down, the same, snide looking smirk resting on his face. 

“Or not.” Eren muttered and he didn’t bother trying to pick up his books. 

“You trying to get out of this one, Jeager?” Reiner asked in a snarky tone and Eren sighed, shaking his head. He looked down at Eren’s things, noticing a sketch sticking out and he pulled it out. “You’re drawing a  _ girl? _ ” He asked and turned it towards Eren. 

He reached out to snatch it back, but Reiner was faster. Bert, who was standing behind Eren, grabbed his arms and Eren watched as Reiner took a couple steps with a devilish smirk on his face. He didn’t say anything, staring at the picture. 

“Looks like there’s a smudge.” Eren’s chest squeezed as he watched Reiner rip the sketch in half. “Oops. Guess you’ll have to redo it, I’m sure you don’t mind?” He shoved it into Eren’s chest, Bert dropping Eren’s arms and he caught the two halves of the paper before they could fall to the ground. “See you later, pipsqueak.” Reiner called and they walked off. 

Eren sighed, picking up his books and putting the ones away that he didn’t need before closing his locker. He hugged his sketchbook to his chest, grabbing a tardy pass before making his way into art. He placed his things down on the empty chair next to him, putting his sketchbook on the table as he turned to walk up to the his teacher’s desk. He didn’t notice half of his ripped sketch falling off the end of the table and sliding under Levi’s feet. 

He didn’t bother with talking or even looking in Levi’s direction when he walked in, not that Levi noticed or cared.

“Hey, Eren.” He turned to the familiar voice and he smiled, grabbing the tape dispenser from the shelf. 

“Hey, Mina. Long time no see.” He sat next to her with a smile. “How’ve you been? Did you finish that project from last week?” 

She nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she crossed one leg over the other and she placed down the colored pencil she held in her hand. “Yeah, it was a pain, but I finished it. I had cramps in my fingers for like, two days after that.” Eren laughed. “I passed though and got a pretty good grade on it, but let’s be honest, you probably got the best grade out of the whole class.”

Eren rolled his eyes and shrugged leisurely. “Hardly. But, I can think of someone else who might have gotten that grade other than me.” She raised an eyebrow, gesturing for Eren to continue and he tilted his head in the direction of his seat in the back of the classroom and she turned her head to glance over her shoulder. 

“Levi?” She asked confused. “He doesn’t even do anything in class. Does he even turn anything in? Is he even  _ passing _ ?”

“Well, you never know what’s going on in a person’s life.” He shrugged again, leaning back in his seat. “But, he’s absolutely amazing. He may not be, like… great at realism art, but have you seen his cartoons?” 

She raised her eyebrows at him, shaking her head slowly and she crossed her arms. “You two seem to have gotten really close ever since Huber made you two pair up together.”

He stayed quiet for a moment, glancing over at Levi for a second before back at Mina. “Yeah, I guess you could say that we’ve gotten to know each other. We also have English together and we sit next to each other in that class.”

Eren watched as her face scrunched up a little. “That sucks. I’m sorry. I hope he’s not too terribly mean to you.” 

“Okay, he’s not  _ that _ bad.” Eren said quietly. “He’s actually… he’s really nice. Nicer than most people care to actually see. They just see all the metal shit in his face and whatnot, his terrifying scowl he always wears, when in reality, he’s pretty chill. I’m not even sure how I got to become ‘friends’ with him, if you’d say that’s what we are. I’m not even sure myself. He has an amazing talent and great potential for whatever it is that he wants to do when he gets to leave this hell hole.” His brain traveled back to the night of the hospital, seeing Levi in such a broken state where he left himself so open and vulnerable to practical strangers. 

Mina nodded, her eyes looking back at Levi who had yet to even move. “You seem to really care about him.” She smiled at Eren. “I guess that’s good because he needs someone to brighten him up and who better than the most awkward and quirky person I know in this school.” She nudged Eren with her elbow, Eren laughing as he stood up. 

He waved, walking back over to his table. Setting the tape on the table, he sat down and grabbed one half of the paper and he noticed the other was gone. He searched for a moment, stopping when he noticed an arm reach over and place the other half on the table without a word. 

“Oh, uh, thanks, Levi.” He said quietly, not earning a response. He carefully taped it back together, shading a couple more areas around the edges before finishing. 

Art was the same as it had always been, quiet and kind of lonely, if Eren was honest. He wasn’t looking forward to lunch and when the bell rang he sighed and walked to his locker, grabbing his lunch and he made his way to his friends. He passed Reiner and Bert without noticing as he neared his friends’ table, Reiner sticking his foot out for Eren to trip on. 

He fell with a yelp landing on his lunch, many eyes landing on him. His face turned scarlet as Reiner and his friends laughed, high fiving each other. Eren tried his best not to let it bother him and to brush off all the stares and eyes of the other students. He looked up when one of his friends, Sasha, walked over, handing him his glasses that had been knocked off when he fell and she helped pick up his books and she pulled him up from the ground. 

They walked to their table, his other friends smiling at him and he offered a small smile back at them. “What’s his problem?” Armin asked, annoyance stretching across his face as he took a bite out of his apple. 

Eren shrugged, remaining quiet as he took in a deep breath and he kept himself from glancing over at Levi’s table. He rubbed his cheeks, willing the redness to dissipate as he ate quietly with his friends. 

“Don’t worry about him.” Eren finally said. “I just ignore him, it’s nothing. Not the first time I’ve fallen and humiliated myself.” Armin sighed while Sasha frowned, patting his arm. It’s been happening on and off over the past couple years, this being the worse and Eren was sure that it was because of the alleged “senioritis” that members of the senior class get every year, thinking that they’re better than everyone else, even though Reiner has always had that type of mindset in the first place. 

Gym wasn’t much better than it usually was, Eren hated the locker room for multiple reasons. One, it just made him feel uncomfortable. Too many people that he didn’t know, but of course there was Bert and Reiner. 

He knew what was coming as he made his way out of the gym, yelping as he was shoved to the floor, causing his head to smack into the ground. Well, his  _ nose _ and then his teeth that bit into his lip, drawing blood. 

As he pushed himself off the ground with a slight groan, he could hear Bert and Reiner laughing behind him, mocking him. He could feel the tears wanting to swell in his eyes but he kept them back. He brought a hand to his face, drawing it back to find blood from his nose and he tasted it from his lip. Luckily Reiner and Bert didn’t try anything after that, kicking his backpack out of the way as they made their way down the hall together. 

Eren gathered his things, walking into the bathroom to grab a paper towel to try and stop the bleeding as much as he could as he made his way to the nurse’s office where the helped clean the blood and stopped his swollen nose from bleeding anymore. He grabbed a pass, shamefully making his way to his English class, walking up to Mr. Z who had been in the middle of talking when he walked in. 

“Eren, what happened?” He asked quietly and Eren waved a hand. 

“It’s nothing. I just fell and I bit my lip.” He looked at Eren for a second before nodding with a quiet sigh and dismissed Eren to his seat. He made his way back, sighing when he looked at Armin. “I’ll tell you later.” He muttered and placed his sketchbook on the desk before slumping down in his chair. 

Eren didn’t bother with trying to start a conversation like he normally did. He had a pounding headache at the front of his brain and all he wanted was to go home and cry. It wasn’t the best way to start the week and all he cared about was Levi not noticing and interrogating him like the last time. He laid his head down on the table, hiding his face in his arms and hoping that he wouldn’t be called on or talked to.

He was pretty sure that when Levi didn’t bother saying anything, he either didn’t notice, which was hard to believe because Levi always seemed to notice everything different, or he just didn’t care enough to say something, and the thought of that seemed to only make Eren feel worse. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Undertaker here. Sorry it took so long to update, but with a new job, looking for a new job, and starting to get ready to move, plus I still haven't gotten my new computer so it's been difficult. I'm really sorry for the wait, but here's a little chapter solely in Levi's POV that I wrote. It's short, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, thank you all for your comments. I haven't been able to reply to them but they mean so much to me and thank you so much for sticking with us, it means so much!

The first thing Levi felt when he woke up was pain. It felt as if fire was running through the veins in his arms and there was a bull constantly ramming into the back of his skull. His eyes were red, sore, and puffy, and embarrassment pumped through him. 

 

He couldn’t believe he had left himself so vulnerable, so open to others. He didn’t really know Eren or his family. Hell, these days he didn’t really even know his uncle. It had been about three years since the last time they had seen each other. The last time they saw each other, Kenny had convinced Levi to quit his gang and become a regular student. 

 

But Levi was never able to just become a regular student. Not really.

 

He sat up with a groan, popping a couple pain pills and washing them down with the mysterious glass of stagnant water on the bedside. He assumed Carla had brought it in the night previous.

 

He was quiet as usual all morning and felt awkward as Carla seated him at the table for breakfast. He ate a couple pieces of toast before using the excuse of an upset stomach to excuse himself. He didn’t want to offend her, she was a nice woman and she was letting him stay there because, for whatever reason, he wasn’t allowed to stay at home by himself.

 

He didn’t even get out of the driveway before his phone suddenly started dinging rapidly, cueing him into the fact that it couldn’t be anyone but Hanji. Rather than attempting to send a single, futile text message, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and clicked the call button. Naturally, she picked it up before the end of the first ring.

 

“Levi!” She shouted and he held the phone away from his ear.

 

“Oi, calm down I have a massive headache.” Levi groaned.

 

None of his long sleeve shirts would pull over his bandages and he glanced down at them. He hated the sight. It was too familiar yet horrifyingly strange all at once. 

 

“Where have you been?! You know what, don’t tell me now meet me and Erwin outside the school like… yesterday. So hurry up slowpoke.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there when I get there.” He hung up the phone and slide the device into his pocket with a sigh. She sure could be piece of work sometimes, but he loved her still.

 

The walk took a little longer than usual and he was feeling slightly sweaty and warm by the time he got there, but he could spot Hanji and Erwin sitting at one of the tables outside the red-bricked building of Sina High. 

 

“Levi!” Hanji shouted at him and raced over, gripping his arm. Levi held back a sound of pain and he pushed her off of him. He tried to hide his arm behind himself, but her gasp told him that she’d seen his arm.

 

“What happened?” Levi sat down besides Erwin at the table and he remained silent for a while before finally telling them everything. He told them about his father and the fact that his uncle was coming down to live with him, about the infection and everything. But the one thing he didn’t tell them was where he was staying. Somehow, he felt that could get a lot more complicated than it needed to be. They were both quiet throughout the duration of his story, but afterwards Hanji looked as if she were about to cry. 

 

“Levi that’s horrible, why didn’t you ever tell us?”

 

“I couldn’t.”

 

“No, you wouldn’t.” Erwin interjected, but Levi looked at him straight on, his eyes slightly glassy.

 

“I couldn’t.” They were all quiet until the morning bell rang loudly throughout the front of the building and they stood up and went inside, going their separate ways as usual. 

 

He hated the way they looked at him, as soon as he started telling them everything that had happened. It was that sympathetic look that he hated, that Eren and Carla both looked at him with. He didn’t want anyone’s sympathy. He didn’t need it.

 

His eyes met Eren’s for a moment, and there was that look again. But Levi knew how to put up a mask, and he continued to projected a stagnant look. Eren looked away, and Levi walked away.

 

But more than anything, Levi felt embarrassed when he looked at the green-eyed boy. For the first time, he had allowed himself to be vulnerable. Eren had seen him cry, had crawled into the bed Levi was staying in to comfort him. He hated to admit it, but it felt nice to be comforted. It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling, but warm and gentle.

 

At first, Levi had simply been annoyed by the boy, but he was growing on him. Something about him drew his attention, made him want to be closer and to go as far as to call each other friends, but at the same time he was also cautious. He was scared. Eren both called to him and made him want to run away at the same time and he simply couldn’t make up his mind.

 

HIs day was boring and uneventful, his arm occasionally spiking with pain until after art started.

 

It wasn’t until Eren passed by his desk that he noticed a torn half of paper fall underneath his feet and he bent to pick it up. It was only half of a sketch, the image of a girl standing in the rain. Something about it struck Lev as sad, but seeing it torn in half made him angry. He hated to see art torn in half and his intuition told him that Eren wasn’t the one who tore it.

When Eren sat back down, Levi placed it on his desk silently without a word. The fact that he was returning with tape told him everything he needed to know. He knew he shouldn’t care what happened to this boy, but it really pissed him off knowing that someone in this school was treating him like shit.

 

In English, Levi wondered where Eren was and he wanted to say something. When Eren sat down he wanted to say something.

 

_ Are you okay? _ __   
  


_ What happened? _

 

_ Are you in pain? _

 

_ Who did this to you? _   
  


But the words never reached his lips and he looked away with shame and embarrassment. Eren probably didn’t want to talk to Levi's pathetic self anyways. After what he had seen... Who would?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've just been super busy, but don't worry we haven't forgotten about our amazing readers or our bitter babies! I finally got a new laptop so hopefully we will update much more frequently from now on!

The week went by almost too slow for Eren’s liking. It was kind of tense between Eren and Levi, the two boys rarely exchanging words. He didn’t know if it was because Levi didn’t really like him or because Eren was just too awkward to start a conversation. His guess was that it was a little bit of both.

Reiner and Bert had been especially active during the week, pushing him around much more than usual. He always came to his classes with small cuts and bruises that covered his hands and face, his busted lip not getting better until around the end of the week; no thanks to Reiner shoving his books in his face and causing him to bite it again. But Eren did his best to make everything seem normal, shaking off the worry of his friends and the tense silence from Levi whenever they sat next to each other in English.

Just like the rest of the week, Eren made it home later than usual, Levi often beating him there. He avoided both pairs of eyes from his mother and Levi and placed his backpack by the door, making his way upstairs and into his room. Locking the door, he made his way to his desk so that he could tape together his now broken glasses the best he could. Once that was finished, he fixed them on his face and made his way back downstairs and grabbed his English notebook and pencil, seating himself on the floor and he leaned his back against the couch.

“Did you finish reading that poem and the questions for it?” Eren asked hesitantly, glancing over at the older boy while he fidgeted with the small bandages on his hands.

“Hm? Yeah. They were easy.” Levi murmured without looking up from his sketchbook, his hands dancing over the page and pencil in hand. He wasn’t sure what he was drawing, or what he wanted to draw. For now, he was just drawing shapes and things with no meaning, Somehow, he couldn’t find it in himself to draw anything with real meaning.

Eren couldn’t help but watch Levi’s fingers as he sketched. There was just something about Levi’s hands that entranced Eren to the point where he was openly staring. “Do you, uh,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “have number three by chance? I couldn’t get it.” He wasn’t one to usually ask for help unless it was from Armin and Marco, the only two of his friends who knew what they were doing. But Levi was one of the top in his class, so he obviously had some idea of what he was doing in his classes.

“Read me the question.” He murmured, still without looking up. He was very focused but he wasn’t opposed to helping Eren with his school work either. After all, the questions were easy and an explanation would be quick and simple. Eren was smart enough to understand.

Eren didn't hear Levi's question, too focused on the other boy's hands. He watched them trace random shapes on the paper, doing whatever it was that they desired to draw. A few minutes of silence went by and he shook his head, snapping out of his daze. He hoped Levi hadn't noticed his staring. “Sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say?”

“Read me the question.” He repeated with a sigh and his hands finally stopped, looking up at Eren. Sure, Eren wasn’t stupid but he could be pretty dense sometimes.

He read the question to Levi, handing him the paper after for him to read it. His eyes raked over Levi, examining him for a moment. There seemed to be something wrong, but he couldn’t be sure. His mouth moved before his brain did and he found himself asking, “are you okay?”

Levi heard the question, but he chose to ignore it. To simply pretend he didn’t hear it. No, he wasn’t okay. He hadn’t been okay for a very long time. But he could not admit that to Eren, he didn’t want to show anymore of his weaknesses to the boy who sat next to him.

“If you look at the third stanza you should be able to figure it out.” He handed him the paper.

Eren frowned. He knew Levi heard the question, knew him well enough by now to know that Levi was just ignoring it simply because he didn’t feel like being open and honest. And Eren couldn’t really blame him either.

All he did was sigh and take the paper from Levi’s hand, mumbling to himself as he finished the homework and tossed it aside. He reached into his backpack, pulling out his sketchbook and a pencil as he started to doodle. At this point, he didn’t really care if Levi watched him or not. He knew that Levi wouldn’t be interested in his drawings as much as Eren was with his.

It was quiet between them, the silence almost crawling under his skin for a reason that he couldn’t place. It irked him in a way it hadn’t before, but he did nothing about it. The doorbell rang and Eren jumped as the loud ding ripped through the silence.

There was a strange man at the door, wearing a hat that casted a shadow over his face. Eren almost didn’t want to open it, and he wouldn’t have if not for his mother rushing past him to open it with a large smile. He smiled at her, setting the box down as she opened her arms for a hug. “Carla! It’s so great to finally see you again.” Mikasa hid behind Eren’s legs, watching the interaction between the two adults.

“It’s been so long! Please, come in.” She stepped aside to allow the other man to enter through the doorway and Eren stepped back hesitantly, his hand sitting on Mikasa’s head reassuringly. He wanted to ask who it was, the reaction on his mother’s face proving that they must be friends. The man shifted the box under his arm from one side to the other, hanging his hat on the coat rack. Eren eyed him skeptically as his mother led him into the living room where Levi was sitting silently, uncaring about what was going on in the hallway.

“I was hoping you had grown at least a few inches.” The man said as he ruffled Levi’s hair with a grin.

Levi rolled his eyes and slapped his hand away. “Why does it matter?” He sighed and set down his notebook, looking up at his uncle with disinterest. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”

“You need a calendar, kid, it’s been a week.” Kenny snorted.

“Tch,” Levi looked away, “I have a calendar, I just didn’t write you on it.”

“Alright boys, that’s enough. Why don’t you two stay for dinner?” Carla interrupted with that jovial smile of hers.

“Sure, sure. Sounds good,” Kenny agreed.

Eren and Mikasa followed behind their mother, Mikasa walking over to stand behind her legs as she stared up at the older man. Judging by the interaction between them, Eren could only assume that it was Levi’s Uncle Kenny.

He snorted at Levi’s response to Kenny, gaining his mother’s and Kenny’s attention. Kenny smiled at Eren and stepped closer. Before he could pull away, Kenny’s hand was ruffling his hair, earning Kenny a look of slight disgust and concern.

“Jesus, kid. When did you get so tall?” He asked and Eren narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion. “Aw, shame. You don’t remember. That means shorty over here doesn’t either.” He pinched Eren’s cheek before turning to pinch Levi’s as well.

“What’s that?” Mikasa spoke up, pointing to the box. Kenny grinned, picking it up and he set it in Levi’s lap.

“It’s a present for my favorite nephew. It’s one of those… gaming systems or whatever.” He shrugged. “Thought I should bring you something so I bought it before flying here.” Eren looked over Levi’s shoulder as he opened it slowly, almost a little skeptically.

“Why don’t you two go upstairs, take a break from your homework and go play for a while and Kenny and I will prepare dinner.” Carla smiled and Eren shrugged, shifting on his feet a little. He wasn’t sure if Levi even wanted to be in the same room with him.

Levi rolled his eyes yet again. “I’m your only nephew. Let’s go upstairs, Eren.” He suggested, standing and looking at Eren expectantly. He was oddly quiet today, normally Eren would be talking his ear off and the absence of his enthusiasm made things even more awkward between them than usual.

“Do you know how to set this thing up?” Levi peered into the box hesitantly. He wasn’t even sure what kind of game console it was, or if it worked. Levi had played a few games at Erwin’s before but he’d never really gotten into the whole “gaming thing,” like so many boys his age had.

Eren shrugged. He took the box from Levi's hands and set it on the ground in front of his TV. “It's an Xbox I think. I'm not sure what kind, not that it really matters. Marco has one at his house.” He stared at it for a moment before up at Levi. “Let's only hope it has directions.”

He had never owned one of his own, his interest was never in electronics as a child. For a moment, he struggled with opening the box before grumbling in German and he stood up, stumbling a little before grabbing scissors so that he could open it.

“It's brand new,” he commented. “These are expensive too. I remember Jean trying to save up to buy one before giving up because the douchebag has no patience.” He took the console from the box and set it on the ground, discarding the cardboard boxes once everything had been taken out and he looked over the few games Kenny had bought with it. There was even an extra controller since the system only came with one.

He grinned when he noticed one of his favorite games in the pile. “I love this game.” He turned the cover to show Levi who had crouched down next to him, looking over another game. “It's a racing game. Mario Kart. It's actually really fun,” he said with a smile. It was the first real smile that he had all day.

“Uh… okay. Before we look at the games we have to figure out how to connect it. I’m assuming these,” he picked up a plastic bag with an assortment of cords inside, “are what we use.”

He really hated not knowing how to do basic things like this. Nothing made him quite so determined.

“Why the fuck does your TV have so many holes? Which fucking hole am I supposed to put this shit into?” He furrowed his brows. “This is so fucking stupid why am I even doing this.” He let out a rugged sigh.

“Eren, you know how to do the thing, right?” He directed his attention towards the other teenage boy, practically thrusting his handful of cords in Eren’s face.

Eren laughed at Levi’s reaction, not acknowledging the fact that Levi’s threw the cords in his face. He held his stomach as he laid on his back while he laughed. There was something about the determination Levi held to try and figure it out all the while getting absurdly angry at an inanimate object.

He sat up, wiping at the few tears that had fallen down his cheeks from laughing so hard but he couldn’t stop giggling, covering his mouth with his hand. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses.

“Well, I’m just going to out on a limb here and say it’s color coded.” He grinned up at Levi, gesturing the cords in his hands to the TV that they had turned sideways. “But you know, I could be wrong.” He sat up on his knees, pushing his sleeves of his shirt up to this elbows, exposing a few of his scrapes that he didn’t care about anymore. Even if they were new.

Grabbing the directions, he skimmed over them for a moment before plugging in the cords one by one. He mumbled to himself in German from time to time when one thing didn’t seem to add up but he grinned in triumph when it seemed to work successfully.

“They have directions for a reason.” He teased, tossing the TV remote to Levi and he pressed the power button on the Xbox. “Okay, so, press the ‘input’ button and click the down arrow three times and then ‘okay’ and it should pop up on the TV.” Eren watched as Levi stared at the remote for a good thirty seconds and Eren sighed, giggling again and took the remote to do it himself. “It worked!” He exclaimed excitedly, fist pumping the air.

“Somehow… so what now?” He picked up one of the controllers awkwardly, pretending like Eren hadn’t completely lost his mind just a moment ago. It took him a few moments and some directions from Eren but he set up his account and they put the game in.

“I think I’ve heard of this game before.” Levi commented as he observed the cartoon characters on the case.

“Who hasn’t?” Eren grabbed the second controller. He knew how it worked from here and he selected his favorite character and Kart. “Yoshi is my favorite, he’s so cute and green.” He smiled and sat with his legs crossed under him and he pulled Levi down to sit on the ground next to him. “Do you know how to play?” He glanced over at the other boy who was staring at the game box. “It’s okay if you don’t, it’s pretty easy and plus, you’re extremely smart. This isn’t exactly rocket science.”

“Good because I don’t know rocket science. Just tell me what each button does.” He peered at the screen. All of the characters were weirdly happy. But something about a few of them was almost malicious, as well as the concept. In his opinion they all had horrible sportsmanship.

Eren explained everything the best he could, telling Levi which tracks to choose that were easy for practice. “Okay, for never playing this before, you’re strangely good at this and I don’t like it,” Eren pouted slightly. He ran a hand through his hair, carefully pushing his glasses up on his nose.

He watched at Levi messed around with some of the other characters, absentmindedly picking at some of the bandages on his arms. “You’re like Bowser Jr,” Eren snorted, “short and bitter.” He laughed at his own joke, feeling a pang of guilt that quickly receded as he giggled to himself. “I’m sorry, that was mean.”

“Tch I’m not short. But I am about to whoop your ass in this game.” He shoved his shoulder into Eren’s gently, moving his arms a little with every twist and turn within the game. Everyone was always making cracks at his height. He knew he was short, but he also made the conscious decision to deny it at every available chance.

Eren rolled his eyes. He was terrible at this game, but he definitely wasn’t about to admit it to Levi. Levi had never even played this game before, he wasn’t about to be bested by someone who couldn’t even reach the top shelf. “Don't get too cocky,” he snorted to himself, “I bet you… I don't know, whatever I want, that you can't beat me.”

“Oh yeah? What are we betting?” Levi smirked and turned to look at him. Betting was an old habit—old habits die hard.

“I just said, whatever I want,” he smirked back at Levi. “I haven't decided what I want when I win.” Eren was probably being too cocky, but even so, Levi couldn't be that good at the game which meant he could have the older boy do anything he wanted. That wasn't something just anyone could have. But he was fairly confident that there was nothing that Levi wanted out of him to bet on anyways.

“Hm, what do I want then...” He fell silent, contemplating for a moment when his eyes fell on the scratches on Eren’s arm.

“When I win, you’ll tell me who’s been pushing you around and bullying you. All names, first and last.” If anything, Levi did owe Eren something. He could handle a few high school punks with no self-esteem.

Eren couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It was a reflex by now, after all the times he’s been brushing Levi off his back, trying to convince him that there wasn’t anyone bullying him and that he was clumsy. For a while, it had subsided and Eren thought that he finally won the stubborn game between them.

“How many times do I have to tell you, I’m not being pushed around?” He pulled down his sleeves, returning his attention to the game in front of them.

“Then why did you pull your sleeves down? I know you are. And you will tell me who they are. If you’re so sure you’ll win, then what are you worried about?” His gaze was that of steel determination and it didn’t waver for a single second.

Eren shrugged. “I was cold? Do I have to give you an explanation for everything?” He scoffed. “And what are you, my mother? I don’t have to do anything,” he mumbled. “Why are you so sure that you’ll win?” He countered, refusing to look Levi’s way because he knew the look Levi was giving him. It was one the other boy had given him before and he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t hate it.

“Do we have a deal?” He was determined, something he had plenty of even if others didn’t realize that.

Eren chewed on his lip for a moment before sighing. “Best two out of three?” He stuck his hand out. He had made bets before, but they were stupid, childish ones with his best friends. Hopefully all the practice at Marco’s house would pay off.

“Two out of three.” He took Eren’s hand for a brief moment before turning to the screen.

Eren’s win. Levi’s win. Levi’s win.

“I told you I could do it.” He cried triumphantly, grinning over at the brunet next to him.

Eren felt his blood grow cold as he watched Levi’s character crossed the finish line seconds before his. He smiled at Levi, enjoying the other boy’s grin which was rare. It wasn’t every day that you saw Levi Ackerman grinning in triumph. Eren stared at him for a moment before the reality of Levi’s win sunk in.

“Yeah you did, let’s go celebrate.” He shut the TV off quickly, practically jumping to his feet and he reached for the door.

“Where are you going?” He caught Eren by his hand, holding him in place and fixing him with a steely grey gaze. “You promised.”

“Promised what?” He asked innocently.

“Don’t play stupid. I know you aren’t a liar. Are you breaking a promise?”

Eren suddenly felt guilty, twisting his hand in Levi’s. He stared at their hands for a moment, the contrast of their skin tones more obvious when touching and he pulled it away. He didn’t say anything. He couldn’t tell Levi; he couldn’t tell anyone.

He was handling it. Given, he wasn’t doing the best job but he was trying. That was all that mattered, right?

A sigh left Eren’s mouth and he glanced at Levi, opening his mouth to say something but there was a knock at his door before it opened a little. Carla popped her head in, smiling at the two. “Oh, perfect timing. Dinner is ready so why don’t you two come down and eat?”

Eren nodded. “Perfect, I’m starving.” He grinned at his mom before glancing at Levi and then back to Carla. “I need to use the restroom first and then I’ll be down.” She nodded and Eren walked past her, slipping into the bathroom and he closed the door behind him quietly and locked it.

“Are you coming, Levi?” Carla asked the other boy, smiling gently at him.

“Uh, yeah.” He mumbled, turning the Xbox off and following her down the stairs. Why did Eren always have to be so goddamn stubborn? Why did he just accept the bullying? Levi wanted to help, wanted to make it stop.

Eren felt bad. He wanted to tell Levi, he really did but he could never bring himself to. He knew that Levi wanted to help, but by helping, Eren knew that it would only make the situation worse. The two older boys were seniors anyways, Eren would just have to persevere through the rest of the school year and then he wouldn’t have to deal with them and everything would be okay.

Not even Eren’s best friends knew about it, of course, they had their suspicions and continuously asked about his bruises and cuts, but he just simply brushed them off as well. The only problem was that they knew Eren too well to know that he was lying to them. And he knew that they knew. They had yet to actually confront him about being bullied, but the questions that they asked were on the same branch.

He made his way downstairs, sleeves covering his arms as he slid into the chair next to Mikasa as he ruffled her hair.

“Doesn’t that shirt make you hot?” Kenny asked, gesturing to his long sleeves and Eren shrugged, picking at his food. He wasn’t about to agree to that as well because he knew they’d make him go change, his mother being afraid that he might run a fever.

“How was the game?” Carla asked, glancing over at the two boys.

“Fine. Eren is just annoyed because I beat him.” He winked at Eren discreetly over the table, earning him a blush. It was amusing when Eren blushed, and even a little bit cute if he was being completely honest with himself.

Kenny laughed. “Is that so? Sounds like there is a little competition between you two.”

Eren hated that he could blush so easily at something so stupid, but he definitely wouldn’t deny that it was somewhat attractive when Levi winked. “Levi cheated.” He grumbled, scowling at the other boy over the table. “I want a rematch.”

Kenny shook his head, laughing again. “You know what I used to do when I was a kid, my friends and I, we used to make bets over stupid games. Given, we didn’t have anything like a gaming system but we made our own games, made stupid bets or dares that the loser or losers had to go through with. Makes everything just a little more fun and intense.” He chuckled to himself, saying something in French and Carla shook her head with a small smile.

“I don’t like making bets.” Eren said as he sunk a little into his seat. “They’re stupid, pointless really.” He shoved a piece of carrot into his mouth, making silly faces at Mikasa as she copied him.

“I did not cheat, you’re just butt hurt. That’s funny because that’s not what you said a half an hour ago before you lost our bet.” He ate his food without question, even though he didn’t have much of an appetite. Considering how few homemade meals he’d eaten over the years, he wasn’t about to deny one now.

Eren pointed his fork at Levi. “I still want a rematch.” He shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth, munching on it as he looked at Levi with slightly squinted eyes as if to prove his point even more.

“You boys really don’t get along as much as you used to.” Kenny said with a sigh. “It’s a shame.” Eren looked at Kenny in confusion before looking over at Levi to see if he knew what his uncle was talking about. He was pretty sure that he hadn’t met Levi before high school.

The rest of the dinner was quiet all but Kenny and Carla chatting across the table, catching up on things. Eren wondered what Kenny meant when he said that Levi and him didn’t remember, how they didn’t get along as much as they supposedly used to.

Kenny helped Carla clean up the table as Eren and Levi made their way upstairs and Eren unplugged the gaming system and put it away in its box for Levi to take back to his house. He gave a little explanation on how to set it up when Levi got home.

“If you can’t figure it out, I can come over and figure it out again,” Eren said with a little laugh and handed the box to Levi before they made their way back downstairs. He noticed that his dad had come home, hugging Kenny with a big smile. He remembered what his mother had told him a couple weeks ago when they had taken levi to the hospital. Levi had already fallen asleep on his shoulder, Carla explaining that Kenny was old friends with his dad; they had all known each other since back in their college days. 

Kenny walked over to Eren, grinning at him and he ruffled Eren’s hair again. “It was great to see you again, kid.”

“Uh,” he looked over at his parents and then to Levi before back to Kenny. That was the part he was still confused about. “Yeah. You too.”

“Ready to go, squirt?” Kenny asked Levi, grabbing his coat and pulled it on, placing his hat on his head before looking at the shorter boy.

“Don’t call me that.” Levi scowled at Kenny, turning to Carla and Grisha.

“Uh, thanks. For everything. Bye, Eren. I’ll see you at school.” He offered Eren a small smile and a wave before turning and heading out the door just behind his uncle. 

Eren watched as he left with his uncle. He heard his parents talking but he didn’t care to hear what they said. As he headed upstairs, it felt almost… empty and quiet without Levi there. Eren almost felt sad that he had left. He sighed, plopping down onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling. At least he would see him at school.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween little ghosts! We prepared this (not so) scary halloween chapter for you and hope you enjoy!

“Leeevi,” Hanji grinned at him, blocking the path into his art class—not only him. 

 

“Move out of the way, you’re pissing people off.” He sighed and she skipped over to him, a glint of mischief in her eyes. She was up to something.

 

“What are you going to be for halloween?” Levi rolled his eyes in response.

 

“Myself, I’m scary enough. I don’t need to dress up as some monster or something.” He had never been into the costumes or candy, but he did love that halloween gave him a reason to draw abstract and terrifying art. Mrs. Huber gave out a special assignment every October and it was one of the few art assignments he really looked forward to. 

 

She sighed. “Well you need to dress up this year because I have something special planned. Start making plans or I’ll force you into a dress or something. If anything, your hairy legs and scowl will scare all the kids off.” 

 

“I’m not dressing up or going to any parties, go to class.” He replied as the minute bell rang, disappearing into art before she could stop him.

 

Hanji grinned and ran off, rushing to make it to her own class across the school in time. She would get him into a costume this year for sure.

 

Eren grumbled to himself as he tried his best to navigate through the hallway. No thanks to Reiner and Bert, his glasses had broken and he had tried to keep them taped up the best that he could before he made an appointment with the eye doctor to get new ones, but with his luck, Mikasa had accidentally broken them even more than they already were which left him blind as he made his way to school and to each of his classes. 

 

He hated squinting to see, it always gave him a major headache and he could never do anything productive. His friends tried to help him navigate as much as they could before they had to make it to their own classes—they had forgotten just how blind Eren was without his glasses, everything meshing together in blurry blobs that he couldn’t make out until they were at least three feet away from him. 

 

He heard the minute bell ding and he internally panicked. Stopping for a minute, he tried his best to take in his surroundings to make sure that he was near his art class before walking as fast as he could. 

 

As if he already didn’t have a major headache pounding his brain, he ran into the door frame at full speed, fumbling backwards and he groaned, cursing in German as he took a step to the side so that he could walk through the door properly this time. He knew that everyone was watching him and he kept his head down a little, feeling his face grow hot in embarrassment and he rubbed his forehead as he made his way to his desk. 

Or at least… what he thought was his desk.

 

Everything felt wrong for a moment and he looked around, squinting to see if he was in the right place. When he realized he had sat at the wrong table, he stood up slowly, his face dusting a light shade of pink from embarrassment and he cautiously made his way to his proper desk, slumping down in the chair. He rubbed his face, continuing to grumble to himself and he rubbed the bump on his forehead, running his fingers through his hair. 

 

Levi looked up from where he had just seated himself at his table just in time to see Eren smack his face into the door frame and he felt a little bit bad for him.

 

“Where are your glasses?” He asked the brunet curiously and slightly concerned. He was pretty certain Eren needed those to see and to draw.

 

“Broken.” Eren replied sullenly, a slight frown on his face as he crossed his arms and he picked at the small scabs on one of his arms since it was the only thing that he could see. 

 

“Haven’t they been broken for a while? Just put some more tape on them.” Levi shrugged. 

 

“That’s what I did, but…I have a five year old sister and she broke them even more than they already were. I had taped them on like, friday, when they were snapped in half and then she stepped on them last night and here I am.” He didn’t bother looking up at Levi or even paying attention to anything their teacher was saying, knowing it would be pointless. “Blind and miserable.” He let out a sigh and let his head fall back while closing his eyes, slumping further down in his chair.

 

“Eren,” he snapped his attention forward to look in the direction of his teacher's voice, his eyes squinting to at least know where she was standing. “Would you mind explaining to the class, the color scheme of this piece?” He watched as what he was sure was her arm pointed to the projector screen. 

 

He stayed quiet for a moment, all eyes on him and he glanced at Levi, leaning forward on his table a little. “What's the color scheme?” He whispered to Levi, trying to focus on whatever it was Mrs. Huber was pointing at.

 

“Pastel.” Levi murmured under his breath, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for Eren. 

 

“Wow, I didn’t know you were that blind.” He said quietly after Eren answered and Mrs. Huber moved on to explain something about pastel colors, naturally Levi was more focused on the sketchbook that was laid out before him on the desk, his hands methodically drawing the sketch of a new comic idea he had been considering recently.

 

Eren sighed and laid his head on the table, glancing at Levi as he squinted his eyes to try and see what he was drawing. “Well, everything is just a big meshed up blob and I hate it. Hence why I wear glasses. Plus, it’s so far away and it’s just a blob on the screen so I have no idea what the picture even is.” He propped up his elbows on the table, resting his chin his palms as he drummed his fingers on his cheeks. 

 

He wished he could see what Levi was drawing, his fascination heightened times ten because of the fact that he couldn’t spy. “I practically need a guide through the halls. My depth perceptions is shit and I can’t ever tell how far or how close something is. I might get contacts, but…” he sighed, running his hands over his face, he ruffled his hair with a quiet groan. “I look terrible without them.”

 

“I disagree.” Levi said quietly. In fact, Eren was pretty hot normally. Take off his glasses and he was even more so. Levi didn’t know why, he probably shouldn’t think that, but he did.

 

A light shade of pink dusted over Eren’s cheeks at the compliment. Or at least Eren thought it was a compliment. Levi rarely ever gave out compliments which made it even more strange. “You do?” He raised an eyebrow slightly, looking Levi over. He almost wanted to move up a seat and sit next to Levi but he wasn’t sure how the other boy would feel about it.

 

“You’re not bad looking either way.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

 

Eren blinked a couple times, quickly sliding into the seat next to Levi and he slumped down into the chair and looked over at Levi. “Squinting was hurting my eyes.” It wasn’t completely a lie, he just decided to leave out the part where he wanted to be closer to him. “And also, can I ask you a question?”

 

“Sure.” He agreed without looking up. His presence beside him was actually somewhat comforting for whatever reason.

 

Eren leaned a little closer, folding his arms and setting them on the table in front of him and he squinted his eyes a bit to try and watch what Levi was doing. It was much easier now that he wasn’t so far away. He flickered his eyes to Levi’s face, examining it for a moment. “Are you gay?”

 

Levi’s hands paused for a moment before resuming their previous task. He didn’t look up.

 

“Yeah. I’ve been gay since the day I was born.”

 

Eren’s eyebrows furrowed a little in question but he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Really? I didn’t know that it worked like that…? There wasn’t… a specific event or person or anything that helped you like, know that you were gay?”

 

“Ehhh, not really. I just kind of… always knew. I never really liked girls. I mean, I really figured it out in high school but that’s a whole different story.”

 

“I wanna know.” He grinned in curiosity. He didn’t know why he was so curious, but it wasn’t a bad thing if Levi wasn’t getting angry at him for asking.

 

He shrugged, “I had my first kiss freshman year and all that stuff.” He admitted.

 

“That was…  _ extremely  _ vague,” Eren snorted. “And  _ stuff _ ?” He raised an eyebrow and scooted his chair a little closer other the other teenager. He wiggled his eyebrows with a little laugh, leaning forward on the table, watching Levi’s hands for a moment before looking over at his face with a grin. “What does that mean? Like… you’re not a virgin? Not that I’d expect you to considering…” He trailed off deciding it was better not to finish that sentence.

 

“I’m not a virgin, I can say that much.” He shrugged. 

 

Just then, Mrs. Huber called their attention to the front of the room and he looked up for a brief moment. They were just concluding one unit and moving onto the next. 

 

“So our next unit is drawing abstract ideas. Feelings, thoughts, anything that isn’t tangible. The idea is to express these ideas. For example…” She went on to show numerous examples of abstract artists. 

 

“I want you all to create an abstract drawing that represents two or more ideas of your choice. It’s due by Friday this week along with at least half a page analysis of your idea and if you’re comfortable presenting it. You can use the rest of the period to work on it and ask me questions individually.”

 

Eren groaned and cursed to himself under his breath. He hated this assignment. It was the one assignment that he could never get a good grade on. He remembered when he got his drawing back last year, the lowest grade he had ever received on an art project: C+. It was devastating considering that he had tried his best to do what it was that she wanted but he couldn’t figure it out the right way to go about it. 

 

He waved Mrs. Huber over to their table and she smiled as she stopped in front of them but her smile went away and a frown replaced it. “What happened to your glasses?” 

 

“My sister stepped on them when she was running around my room last night.” He sighed. “But I had a question about the assignment,” She raised her eyebrows as if to tell him to continue. “Can I  _ not _ do this assignment?” 

 

She seemed to be taken aback from the question as she looked at him, quiet for a moment. “I have a good grade in this class, over a hundred percent I think. Would it hurt my grade  _ that  _ much if I just took the zero?” He couldn’t believe that he was asking her to do such a thing, all things considered. It was something he hadn’t expected to come from himself. 

 

“Eren, this is a big assignment.” She crouched down so that she was eye level with the teenager so that she could lower her voice for only him to hear. “It would probably bring you down quite a bit and I don’t want it to hurt your GPA.”

 

He groaned to himself and he nodded. “Okay… thank you, Mrs. Huber.” She smiled at him and then at Levi before standing up and walking around the classroom to answer anymore questions that other students had. Slumping down into the chair even further, Eren covered his face with his hands as a mixed string of curse words left his mouth. 

 

He could barely talk to his teachers normally, how did she expect him to present in front of a class full of students who didn’t particularly like him, let alone care what kind of art he’s made.

 

Levi had flipped the page in his sketchbook and sat staring at the blank page. An abstract idea? What was something abstract he could draw about, preferrably something creepy as it was around Halloween and he loved doing creepy art. It only took him a few minutes of deep thought before the idea struck him like a brick out of thin air. He huddled against the wall to hide his paper and sketched silently, extremely focused on the page before him.

 

_ Abstract _ . The word kept repeating itself in Eren’s mind as he sat back in his chair, thinking. He chewed on his nails absentmindedly as he did but it was getting him nowhere. He wasn’t extremely into creepy things and Halloween, but he did like the fall season. But that wasn’t abstract like Mrs. Huber wanted. 

 

The only abstract thing in his life was making friends with Levi. As terrible as it was for him to admit it. 

 

A hiss of pain left his mouth as he looked down at his arm where the hand that he was chewing on moved to pick at the scabs, peeling one off. He watched a small dot of blood form on his arm before reaching for something to wipe it off. 

 

Drumming his fingers on his legs, he leaned the chair back on the back two legs and he closed his eyes, trying his best to think about what it was that he could possibly do for the assignment. Before he could catch himself, the chair slid out from under him and sent him tumbling down to the ground, causing a loud  _ thud  _ to sound throughout the somewhat quiet classroom. 

 

He groaned as his head hit the ground and he sat up slowly before his eyes snapped open in excitement at the idea that popped into his head. He waved a hand to show that he was fine and he pulled himself up. Grabbing the chair, sitting on the edge as he pulled out his sketchbook and pencils from his backpack and he stared at the blank page in front of. 

 

“This is going to be a pain in the ass without glasses,” he mumbled to himself as he started to sketch the best that he could. Of course though, he was testing his luck since it hadn’t been good in the first place and his pencil broke. A groan left his mouth and he fought back the urge to bang his head against the table. 

 

He didn’t trust himself to get up and navigate through the classroom to the pencil sharpener so he turned to Levi instead, poking him in the shoulder. “Hey.”

 

“Hm?” He said lightly, as a mere acknowledgment that he was listening since his attention was focused towards the paper in front of him.

 

“I need an extra pencil… If you have one. I don’t trust myself to get up and find the pencil sharpener and I’m sure you don’t either.” He mindlessly continued poking Levi’s shoulder with the dull end of the pencil, his eyes wandering around Levi’s back, taking notice of the outline of the bandage of his arm showing through the sleeve of his shirt.

 

“Yeah, sure.” He rifled through his pencil case and produced a black pencil, handing it to him. 

 

“So do you know what you want to do for the project yet?”

 

Eren smiled and happily took the pencil, giving a nod for thanks and he shrugged while tapping the end of it against his him. “I mean, kind of. I'm shit at drawing cartoon style and I almost  _ always _ fail at this stupid project.” The last part came out as a grumble as he looked down at the sketchbook in front of him. 

 

“What about you?” He asked curiously, squinting his eyes to try and see the outlines of Levi's sketch. “You seem extremely excited. A little overly excited if you asked me but I guess that’s a good thing. You don’t seem like the type of person to get excited too easily.” He smiled, leaning forward on his elbows.

 

“You don’t have to draw in a cartoon style. Abstract can be anything, the point of it being abstract is so that it doesn’t conform to a single idea. There’s a lot you can do with it. I already know what I’m doing, it’s one of my favorite units.” He admitted. Granted, his could very much be considered horror but he didn’t mind that.

 

“Really?” Eren grinned. It didn't really surprise him that it was Levi's favorite unit. “For my idea to work though, it would look much better in cartoon style. And I need to work on it anyways. I'm only good at realism and even that is… iffy.” He sighed and laid his head on the table, peeking over at Levi from his arms. 

 

“We'll see what happens. What's your idea? I'm curious.”

 

“Inner demons.” He said simply, looking back down at his page. Levi had many of his own inner demons and those were exactly what he was planning to write. No one would know they were  _ his _ demons, but Eren might guess. The brunet who sat next to him and he’d only known for a short period of time already knew of many demons even Hanji and Erwin had never known.

 

“Sounds creepy.” Eren grinned. “Mine is lame compared to yours. Your art is always better than mine, not that I mind because it’s amazing.” Long before Eren knew that Levi was the author of the anon comics that he loved so much, Eren always admired and looked up to him.

 

He smiled admirably at Levi, an excited glint in his eye. “I can’t wait to see it.”

 

“If I manage to finish it and actually like it.” He shrugged. He had a tendency to scrap every other creation of his and more. Sometimes they made it in his scrap drawer, but more often than not they were thrown into his garbage can.

 

Eren turned back to his sketchbook, making the outline of his character before looking back at Levi with another smile. “It’ll be great, I know it.”

 

\---

“Leviiii, come on you have to go in a costume.” Hanji whined, tugging on his sleeve. “You can’t come to a halloween party just being your grumpy self. At least wear a cape and let me do your make-up, pleaseee?” She begged. What she didn’t tell him was how many people she actually invited, including Levi’s newest friend, Eren. 

 

Levi sighed, slightly frustrated “Why do you always insist? Fine. I’ll let you once.” She squealed and drug him home with her with a quick good-bye to Kenny and began throwing him into clothes and doing his make-up.

 

Once finished, she steered him in front of a full body mirror and he raised a dark eyebrow. “Really? A vampire?” It wasn’t even a good once and extremely cliche. She had dressed him in a fake black and red suit with a long black cape. His black hair was getting long and fell into his eyes and he made a mental note to get it cut soon. While she hadn’t done much in terms of makeup, there were accents of white and black to make his cheeks look sharper and his eyes much darker, accenting them carefully.

 

“Yesss. Let me put some red lipstick on you and blood and then you have to wear these teeth. Honestly, you’re probably the hottest vampire I’ve ever seen.” She smirked and he rolled his eyes. Someone was going to get their head bitten off before the end of the night and it would probably be her.

 

“ _ Guys, _ ” Eren groaned, stopping short of running his paint covered hand through his hair. He had just finished painting Sasha’s face to complete her costume even though he needed to watch at least three different videos to get the gist of what it was that he needed to do in order to paint it correctly. 

 

“Eren you have to go.” Sasha begged, giving him the best puppy dog face she could without ruining her make-up. “I mean, what’s a piece of artwork without their creator?” She wiggled her nonexistent eyebrows and Armin snorted while Jean and Marco nodded at the point she had made. They were all dressed in costumes, Eren feeling bare in comparison to his friends. 

 

He chewed on his lip nervously. “I don’t know… I’ve never been to one. And I don’t even have a costume idea.”

 

“Just be a skeleton.” Armin said with a shrug. “You could easily make some pretty awesome design and I’m sure that Jean has some black skinny jean you could wear.” Jean nodded, turning to dig around through his closet and pulled out a black t-shirt and skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees. He tossed them at Eren’s face before he could protest and he sighed. 

 

“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll go. Just… give me like twenty minutes.” 

 

\--

 

“Hanji, you told me you invited like five people, what the fuck is this? There are way more than that.” She shrugged innocently and pushed through the crowd. 

 

“My parents left town for the weekend. They know I’m having this party… they just don’t know I have these.” She grinned and produced way too much alcohol to be legal or healthy, especially given the fact they were all underaged.

 

“I’m not going to ask where or how you got that but I need some. Give me a shot glass.”

 

“Eren you look fucking  _ amazing! _ ” Sasha yelled over the loud, thumping music. People stared as he walked in, admiring his almost too realistic skeleton make-up. Black was an extremely slimming color on him, his friends pointing it out more than once. Jean shoved a beanie on his head, Sasha adjusting it until it was perfect. 

 

He shoved his hands into his pockets, following Sasha as she grabbed his hand as they made their way into the kitchen, Jean tossed a beer can to each of them except for Eren who watched as they simultaneously opened the cans, taking large gulps. “Here, try it,” Sasha nudged Eren gently. “Just one drink?”

 

He took the can from her hand and eyed it skeptically before flicking his eyes to each of his friends who smiled reassuringly and he took in a deep breath before bringing the can to his lips, taking a drink. His face contorted to one of disgust at the aftertaste and Jean laughed. 

 

“Have him try the other brand, it might taste better to him.” Marco said, sipping at his bottle idly, leaning against Jean’s arm. 

 

Eren would have to admit, he liked the second option a lot better and Jean opened a bottle for him, handing it to him for them to clink their drinks together before making their way back into the crowd. He didn’t touch his drink, staying near the wall as he observed everyone. Most people were already tipsy, empty cans and bottles littering the floor and seats. He crossed his ankles while he leaned against the wall, looking out for anyone else he knew. 

 

“Hanji, this place is fucking disgusting. What is this? Make people clean up after themselves.” He scowled and took his fourth shot of tequila since he arrived there and he leaned into Erwin who was a zombie and sat pining next to him.

 

“There you go, take another shot. I like you better drunk. You’re so much fun when you’re drunk. Come on, drink up.” She giggled and he rolled his eyes. 

 

“That’s stupid. I need some air.” He made his way towards the backdoor and subconsciously searched his pockets for some cigarettes, forgetting for a moment he had quit months ago.

 

Eren had finished at least a third of the bottle in his hands but didn’t feel any different like his friends teased him that he would. According to Jean and Sasha, Eren was supposed to be an extreme lightweight, which, to their surprise, he wasn’t. 

 

He couldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t having fun though, because he definitely was. He was thankful for the cuts in the jeans he was wearing, giving him a small breeze that cooled him off just enough in the large crowd of people. It was definitely not something that Eren had been expecting, though he wasn’t really sure what he had been expecting. 

 

He didn’t even know how late it was, not that it mattered. He told his mom that he would be staying at Armin’s house that night so it really didn’t matter how long they stayed out. 

 

“Eren!” Sasha skipped over to him, his arms shooting out to hold her before she could stumble anymore than she had. “You have to come dance with us. I want to see those curves move.” She bumped her hip into his with a giggle. It had just registered to Eren that there was a sexual song playing, most people on the dance floor dancing too close to each other, grinding against one another and he wanted to tell her no. 

 

“We’ll stay by the edge, promise. But you gotta let loose, have a little fun, ya know?” Eren sighed, taking a rather large drink from the bottle before setting it down and he let himself be dragged to the dance floor with the rest of his friends, closing his eyes as he let himself get a little lost in the song that was playing. 

 

After a few minutes, Levi stepped inside again with a sigh. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t give for a cigarette just then. Why was he even here again?

 

But the thought was gone just as quickly as it had come. Levi wasn’t sure who it was at first, but there on the edge of the crowd was a boy dressed in all black. His body moved in a way that should be illegal, and Levi couldn’t help but stand there and stare. Even when the boy turned around and looked directly at him, he couldn’t break his gaze. It took him much longer to recognize him than it should have.

 

Sasha nudged her elbow into Eren’s side and he moved closer so that he could hear her. “There’s a certain vampire eyeing you.” She tilted her head in the direction of said vampire, her eyes flicking over the other boy before back to whatever it was that she was doing. 

 

Eren didn’t want to seem obvious, taking a few moments before he turned his head to see what Sasha had been talking about. She certainly wasn’t wrong. About ten feet away stood a vampire who was very openly and blatantly staring at him. Eren didn’t stop his movements as they held gazes, his brain taking a moment longer than usual to recognize who it was that was staring at him like he was eye candy and a sheepish smile made it was to Eren’s face. 

 

Excusing him from his friends for a moment, he walked over, stepping over empty beer cans and he gave an awkward wave. “Hey, Levi. I didn’t know you would be here.” Eren couldn’t be more thankful for his make-up than in that moment, hiding the dark blush that had crept over his face, partly from being out of breath from the dancing but the majority was from the embarrassment of Levi staring him down. 

 

“I like your costume, it looks great.”

 

He shrugged “Hanji forced me into it. I didn’t realize you’d be here either. I didn’t recognize you for a minute, I was surprised. Your make-up is impressive though.” He gave Eren a smile, no thanks to the alcohol he had already ingested. 

 

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in that much black either.” He admitted and gave Eren a once over. Damn. He actually had a great shape that had Levi looking at Eren in a totally different light. Oh the joys of black clothes and hot boys.

 

Was Eren imagining it or did Levi just check him out? 

 

He wasn’t exactly sure, the blush under his make-up darkening and he reached up to fix his glasses out of habit, forgetting that his mom had bought him contacts and instead he ran his hand through his hair with a nervous chuckle. “Oh, uh, thanks. I did it in like twenty minutes. I… hadn’t really planned to come but I had already done Sasha’s make-up so they convinced me to do my own and come with them.” 

 

He shifted from one foot to the other, glancing over his outfit once again. He wouldn’t disagree that the skinny jeans and shirt hugged him in all the right places and in the right ways, giving him more shape than he thought he had. It was hard to ignore all the stares he had gotten throughout the night, but none of them made him blush as hard as Levi’s did. “They’re Jean’s clothes. Though… I think the shirt is a bit too tight.” He fiddled with the hem of it, glancing over at Levi who was still openly staring.

 

“I think it fits you just the right way.” Levi smiled, leaning against the wall behind him and brushing a piece of hair out of his eyes. 

 

“Do you drink at all?” He asked.

 

Eren smiled at the compliment, not sure if Levi was flirting or not but it made him feel a little better about it. He crossed his arms over his chest with a little shrug. “Haven’t really had the chance. I mean, I was given a beer but it didn’t taste very good and I only finished half of it. My friends though I was going to be a lightweight and a few other people have made jabs at my last name because apparently it’s a brand of a type of alcohol?” 

 

He looked Levi over for a moment, taking in the way he leaned against the wall. It was certainly a nice way of extenuating Levi’s shape, his eyes practically glowing in the light and the looseness of his muscles told Eren that he had to be a little tipsy. “Do you?”

 

“Tequila is my favorite, although I can go for vodka at times. Care to take a shot with me?” If there was anything Levi didn’t like, it was drinking by himself and Erwin and Hanji were off doing god knows what and it wasn’t like he had many friends.

 

“I've never taken a shot before,” he said to himself out loud before shrugging with a grin. “Lead the way. Though, I might need to hold onto something so I don't lose you in the crowd. There's too many people and I don't know where anything is.”

 

Levi chuckled and took his hand, leading him over to where him and Hanji hid some shot glasses and he produced a clean one for each of them. “Hold out your hand.” He said and fill his up, but only filled Eren’s shot-glass about three-quarters of the way.

 

Eren took the shot glass, eyeing it before looking up at Levi curiously. “What is it?”

 

“Tequila. Now hold out your left hand. I’m going to put salt on the back of it and you’re supposed to lick it off after you take the shot, okay?”

 

He made a face, but held out his hand anyway. “Why do you do that? Why not put the salt in the drink?” 

 

“It’s called a chaser. You can use limes, oranges, various drinks,” he shrugged “I just go for plain salt, it’s also the cheapest. Ready?” He grinned.

 

He eyed the salt in his hand before back at Levi and he couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah.” 

They counted down from three, tipping their heads back to down the shots. Eren sloppily set the glass down on the table as he went into a coughing fit, placing his hand on his chest that wasn’t holding salt. He gagged a couple times, watching as Levi licked the salt off his hand and Eren made a face of his own hand before licking the salt. 

 

He shivered, gagging a few more times and he made another face as he reached up to carefully wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes where tears had formed from choking on the shot. Cursing in German, he turned to Levi in disbelief. 

 

“You  _ enjoy  _ that?” Though, after a few moments, Eren found himself wanting to try another shot so he didn’t seem so pathetic compared to Levi.

 

Levi chuckled lightly, grinning at Eren “Bitter like me, of course. Vodka is ten times worse though, it is basically acid so don’t try it if you don’t like that.”

 

“Well, I can’t deny that.” He grinned with a wink and slid his glass to Levi. “Give me another.”

 

“You sure?” He asked as he filled both of their glasses.

 

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be asking.” He grinned, taking the shot from Levi and waited for the other boy to pour that salt into his hand. “Oh,” he clicked their glasses together, leaning on the table a little closer, “and happy halloween.”

 

“Happy Halloween.” Levi replied, definitely feeling a buzz and he leaned closer with a smirk.

 

Suddenly, the music stopped with a jolt and Levi looked up to see Hanji standing on a table “Alright, unless I ask you to stay it’s time to get out people! I’m tired of kicking you out of the bedrooms.” 

 

Levi chuckled and within a half hour she managed to herd mostly everyone except Eren, his friends, Erwin, and Levi. 

 

“Woo, more tequila for me.” Levi chuckled to himself with a big grin as he flopped onto the sofa.

 

Eren stretched his arms above his head, the buzz mostly fading since he stopped after the third shot. He found Sasha who was giggling and spinning in a circle by herself and he grabbed her, picking her up bridal style and she giggled, kicking her legs and waving her arms as she sang loudly in his ear. 

 

He noticed that her make-up was smudged around her mouth which made him guess that she had to be making out with multiple people and he set her down on the ground in the living room where Hanji was pushing bottles and cans away to clear a spot for them. Sasha clung to Eren, playing with his hair and she leaned up and kissed his cheek before giggling and sitting on the floor next to Jean who was just a tad bit more sober than her.

 

With a sigh, Eren sat down, folding his legs under him as Armin sat between him and Sasha and laid on the ground, rubbing his face with a yawn. 

 

“Hanji, what are we doing?” Erwin asked as he stumbled a little to sit in the circle with the rest of them as he pulled Levi off the couch, removing the bottle of tequila from his hand and setting it in a higher place he knew Levi couldn’t reach.

 

Levi sprawled across Erwin’s lap in an attempt to reach the bottle, eyeing him with a glare. “Give it back.” He pouted. “Just because you’re a fucking giant doesn’t mean you can take my alcohol from me, you know.”

 

He gave up after a few moments of them bickering and he sat up with a sigh. “Erenn, Erwin is an asshole. He won’t give it back.”

 

Eren glanced over at Levi, leaning back on his hands as he flicked his hair from his eyes, removing the beanie and tossing it at Jean. “So is Jean.” He teased. “You don’t need anymore, you’re done for tonight, sorry.” He reached over and pat Levi’s head gently before going back to leaning on his hands. 

 

Sasha crawled over behind him, sitting on her knees as she played with his hair. “You knoooowww,” she drawled out and he tilted his head back to look up at her, raising an eyebrow. “It’s a wonder that you’re single.” She giggled as he rolled his, the make-up still on his face to hide the faint blush and he looked forward, turning his head to look at Armin. 

 

“I meeeaaaaannn, you’re really,  _ reeally _ hot Eren. I’m jus’ sayin’.” Her arms wrapped around his neck as her fingers poked and prodded at his face, somewhat trying not to smudge his make-up, not that it mattered since it was just his friends around to see him.

 

Levi rolled his weight onto one side and practically fell into Eren’s lap, pushing Sasha’s hands away from Eren’s face. “Don’t smudge his make-up. It’s fucking awesome.”

 

Eren raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the boy in his lap before looking up at Armin who looked just as confused as Eren felt. He felt Sasha’s arms around his neck tighten slightly and she pulled him around from Levi’s hands and he looked over to see a slight glare on Sasha’s face. 

 

“No one asked you, shorty.” She stuck out her bottom lip, pressing her cheek to Eren’s almost protectively and he could smell the alcohol in her breath and he sighed audibly. 

 

“Off.” He shoved her away gently, ruffling her hair and giving a little smile, thankful that Armin offered a distraction for her. He rolled his eyes as he leaned back on his arms and flicked his eyes to look at Levi, bringing a hand up to card through the other boy’s hair gently before standing up slowly to walk into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. When he came back, he sat back down in his spot as Hanji grinned excitedly. 

 

“Care to explain why we’re sitting in a circle?” 

 

Levi had just rearranged himself to lay his head on Eren’s leg and he yawned. “You’re comfortable.” He mumbled, more or less ignoring Hanji.

 

“Well, I figured none of us actually wanted to clean and I wanted to play truth or dare.” She grinned widely and bounced a little bit.

 

Eren’s hand found itself back to Levi’s hair, playing with it softly as he combed his fingers through it, massaging his scalp every now and then. Eren couldn’t care less what they did, as long as he didn’t have to clean. He may not be drunk or tipsy, but he wasn’t tired either and it was the most fun he’s had in a long time. 

 

They went quite a few rounds with an “ooh” here and few dares, more truths than dares. In fact, truths were starting to get a little tiresome.

 

“Levi, truth or dare?” Hanji asked out of nowhere and Levi didn’t look up, he was enjoying having his hair played with too much.

 

“Dare.”

 

“Hmmm… I dare you to give Eren a lap dance for an entire song.” Levi could hear the grin in her voice and he looked at Eren, searching for his reaction. After all, most straight guys would freak out if they had to receive a lap dance from a gay guy.

 

Eren was busy having a quiet side conversation with Armin when he heard his name from Hanji and he tuned in just time to hear her dare she gave to Levi. He felt his whole body froze, his eyes frozen on Armin who looked just as shocked as he did. 

 

He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about it, if he wasn’t honest. This whole night had been a rollercoaster, Levi being a little friendlier,  _ flirtier _ than usual but he knew that was because of all the booze he had consumed. He definitely wasn’t freaked out by the fact that Levi was gay, two of his best friends were gay and Eren was starting to have small suspicions that he himself was gay, but he couldn’t be quite sure. 

 

It wasn’t like he could say no, it wasn’t his dare to deny. He tried to seem calm and collected as he shrugged, as if it was nothing. 

 

Hanji grinned, a glint in her eye that he didn’t understand as she jumped up, running to the stereo to pick out a song for Levi to dance to as Sasha pulled out her phone, Eren too focused looking down at Levi, waiting expectantly to notice. 

 

“Are you okay with that?” Levi asked but he was already sitting up and anticipating the lap dance way more than he really should. It was a good thing he had already experimented with lap dances a little bit. 

 

He was actually extremely eager to give Eren a lap dance and he was going to blame it on all the tequila he’d consumed that night.

 

“It’s fine.” He shrugged, thankful that his voice didn’t waver a little. He could see that Levi was ready to give one anyways so there was no point in saying no despite the strange feeling that settled in his stomach. 

 

“Okay.” The moment the song came on, Levi transformed into someone else. Despite all the eyes and the camera on them, he couldn’t stop the way his hips or his body moved. He was no longer in control of himself, but a desire he did not know existed within him was rearing it’s head and making him move with the music, never breaking eye contact with Eren. Somehow, it felt like he was casting a spell on the brunet and he honestly loved every second of it. 

 

He ended the song with barely any space between their lips and he was slightly out of breath, rolling off of him and leaning against the couch “Happy now, perverts?” But honestly no one could have been happier, or hornier, than Levi right then.

 

_ Damn _ . 

 

That’s all Eren could think, his mind reeling and body frozen at what had just happened. It was as if Levi had turned into a sex god and Eren is sent the darkest blush to spread across his cheeks, even down his neck and over his ears. The game continued on for a little longer, Eren shifting as he pulled his knees to his chest to hide the awkward hard on he had straining in his jeans. He didn’t know when it had happened, or why. 

 

_ Well, _ the reason why was the boy sitting next to him who was leaning against the couch, face flushed with a light pink and lips slightly parted as his breaths came out in small puffs since he was a little out of breath. It was an image forever seared into Eren’s mind along with the look Levi gave him the entire time he gave the lap dance. 

 

Before he knew it, Hanji was returning with a handful of large blankets, tossing them in the middle of the circle as everyone made themselves comfortable on the floor, too tired to care where they were laying as sleep slowly took over their bodies. Eren hoped that his awkward boner would go away soon as he moved to sit up against a wall, not bothering with a blanket because he knew it would end up getting taken from him or Sasha would end up cuddling his side, which, having someone to lay with didn’t sound like a bad idea but he kept his mouth shut and ran a hand through his hair while he pulled out his phone. He had turned it off during the party so that he wouldn’t lose battery and he turned down the brightness of his screen while he messed around, the sound of shifting and snoring soon filling the living room.

 

“Oops, I ran out of blankets, sorry.” Hanji grinned at Levi and she shrugged, walking off.

 

“That bitch. I know she has more. She’s just jealous.” He sighed and sat against the couch near Eren, staring over at him for a minute. “Sometimes she really pisses me off.” The words were barely out of his mouth before he found himself drifting off, his head eventually finding Eren’s lap for a pillow.

 

For the first time since he left Eren’s house, he slept a full night with no interruptions.

 

Eren found himself smiling, his fingers combing through Levi’s hair once again as if it was only a natural thing to do. Shrugging off his jacket, he laid it over Levi’s chest like a blanket, leaning down to place a soft, feather-like kiss to his forehead. “Goodnight and happy Halloween.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of you were prepared... but this has been planned... enjoy ;)

The weekend was way more awkward than Eren had anticipated it to be. Mostly because he definitely hadn’t been planning on receiving a lap dance from Levi, which had been forever burned into his mind, along with the look in Levi’s eyes. Everything about him had been engraved in a certain part of Eren’s brain that he couldn’t help but keep referring back to. 

 

They had woken up in a mess of tangled limbs, Levi’s head pressed against his chest and arms wrapped around each other for warmth. Not that Eren needed it. He was like a living furnace if anything. 

 

But when Levi woke up, he had almost instinctively pulled away, giving a mumbled apology that Eren couldn’t coherently respond to due to the flustered mess that he was, face red and heart pumping at their close proximity. And eventually it went away when Hanji had put them all to work with cleaning the house to be spotless as if there hadn’t been dozens of drunk high school students crammed into the small living room. 

 

Eren had managed to avoid Levi during that time, not being mentally ready to face the other boy after the events of last night. Not because he was upset, oh no, quite the opposite. He enjoyed it way too much, embarrassed with himself that he had liked it so much and he couldn’t bring himself to face the shorter boy. 

 

“Oh my  _ god _ ,” Sasha laughed with a large smile on her face, a glint in her eye as Eren walked over to them, his art project clutched to his chest. He had stayed up all night finishing and perfecting it, taking all his sleep as he dragged himself to school that morning. 

 

“So… guess what I found?” Her grin widened as her eyes landed on Eren while they stopped to talk by his locker before their third period. He shrugged, uncaring of what it is that she found and opened his locker to exchanged his books. “A video of a certain vampire giving a sexy skeleton a steamy lap dance.” Eren froze, hearing the smirk in her voice as she pressed play to show Armin and Jean who crowded around her. 

 

“He enjoyed it as much as you did, Eren.” Jean smirked and Eren felt his ears go red along with his face, slamming his locker shut as he pushed past them and into his art class. He really wasn’t in the mood to talk about it, if he was honest. It was still all too embarrassing and he still couldn’t figure out what the strange feeling in his stomach and chest were every time he thought about it. It had occupied his thoughts all weekend and all he wanted to know was why. 

 

Slumping down in his chair with his project on the table, he pushed his new glasses on his nose —his mom had finally taken him to go get new ones— while he pulled a book from his backpack to try and distract his thoughts elsewhere.

 

Levi had woken up with one of the worst headaches of his life the next morning, and he spent the full day Saturday nursing his hangover after helping make Hanji’s house spotless. 

 

“Erwin, why did you let me drink so much tequila?” He mumbled, leaning into him with a sigh as Hanji saw Eren and his friends out the door. “My head hurts so much.” 

 

Erwin scoffed and gave him a bemused look. “I took it away from you, but apparently not soon enough. I love it when you get drunk though, I admit I was almost jealous of Eren. I’ve never seen you like that.”

 

“Seen me like what?” Levi furrowed his eyebrows and shifted to look up at the blonde.

 

“Do you not remember?” He asked and Levi leaned against him again.

 

“Not really.”

 

“This will be good. Come on boys, let’s go get breakfast.” Hanji grinned, practically pushing them out of the front door.

 

“Did I do some stupid shit?” 

 

“Only a lap dance or two, nothing super interesting.” Hanji grinned, bumping his shoulder.

 

“I… what? Shit.” He mumbled and scratched at his head. “Who?”

 

“A cute skeleton named Eren.” She smirked and Levi groaned and buried his face in his hands.

 

Monday was going to be very awkward.

 

\---

 

“Hanji, shut the fuck up. If you show anyone that video I will personally disembowel you and that is a solid promise, understood?” She rolled her eyes and nodded in response before disappearing to her own class.

 

It had taken Levi some time before he started to remember his drunk and rather sensual lap dance that Friday night. Fuck. If Eren wasn’t so straight, Levi would regret nothing. If Levi hadn’t been fully erect for half of it, which was extremely obvious in the video, he might not regret it.

 

Yet here he was, sitting in art now and attempting to avoid looking at Eren. Which wasn’t hard because he was obviously doing the same thing.  _ You fucked it up this time you gay bastard _ . He sighed inwardly.

 

Eren heard Levi enter the room, making his way to the seat in front of him. His leg was bouncing out of nerves, hoping the other boy wouldn’t look at him or say anything. Eren wasn’t sure that he would be able to handle a conversation after this past weekend. 

They’d have to say something eventually, Eren was trying to psych himself up for it but it wasn’t working very well. With a rather irritated sigh, he set his book down and slumped back in his chair. As he crossed his arms over his chest, he let his eyes flicker over to the boy in front of him. He didn’t see Levi’s project anywhere in his hands and he hoped that he hadn’t forgot it. 

 

“H-hey,” Eren cursed himself, clearing his throat to try and distract away from the obvious voice break, “did you finish your project?” The waver in his voice was obvious, but he was hoping that it didn’t make things even more awkward than they already were. 

 

Levi cleared his throat and glanced at Eren “Y-yeah.” He really wanted to know something. Should he ask? Just fucking do it.

 

“Can… can I ask you something?” He asked with a sharp breath.

 

Eren felt his heart skip a beat before it began pounding in his chest. He stared down at his project on the table in front of him, carefully brushing off a few dust particles that had fallen on it. 

 

“U-uh… Yeah… sure, go for it I guess.”

 

“I, uh,” fuck this was so awkward, “how much do you remember… from Friday, I mean?” Did he remember the lap dance? Did Eren remember the way Levi looked at him? How their lips had almost touched?   
  


It was like a moment of realization for just how whipped Levi was for Eren. 

 

Eren felt his face turn as red as a tomato, every part of his being becoming frozen in his seat. Did he remember? Of fucking course he did. He was pretty much the only sober one there, how could he forget something like that anyways?

 

His first gay experience as Sasha liked to call it. 

 

He was well aware of how close Levi had been, how everything was too close to touching and how he could feel Levi’s hot breath fanning over his face as the song dragged on for what felt to be an eternity. There was a small part of Eren that had been scared. Scared that his first kiss was going to be at a Halloween party with his drunk friends while he was receiving a lap dance. 

 

There wasn’t anything wrong with Levi being gay, Jean was gay as fuck, it was kind of annoying if he was honest. Not the gay part, but Jean. Eren just wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about his first kiss being with a boy. His dad certainly wouldn’t be fond of it. 

 

“Uh…” What was he supposed to say? That he remembered everything that happened that night, right down to the look in Levi’s eyes as he straddled Eren’s lap. “A bit.” He managed to say as he swallowed the lump in his throat. “... What… about you?”

“Well… at first I didn’t remember anything but… I started to remember in bit and pieces and...what do you remember?” He asked hesitantly. 

 

Fuck, Levi. Why don’t you go back to banging Erwin and hoping nobody notices you anymore. In fact, that wasn’t such a bad idea. He just might have to call him up later to get Eren off of his mind.

 

He shook the thought from his mind and looked at Eren expectantly.

 

Eren couldn’t look at the other boy, picking at his nails. He shrugged a little, unsure of what to say. 

 

“... I wasn’t ever tipsy.” He hoped that was enough of an answer for Levi but he knew that it wouldn’t be. “Uh… there were a lot of people and I’m surprised that I didn’t have a panic attack and actually die.” There had been a few points where he came close but he was glad that he didn’t. “I remember Sasha and her drunk self, Jean and Marco making out, a lot of  _ really _ attractive.” He wasn’t going to go into specifics and say that Levi was in that category. 

 

He paused as he chewed at his nails, crossing one leg over the other, still refusing to look up and meet Levi’s eyes. “You and I took a few shots together. Well, you taught me how to take one. It was pretty fun.” A small smile came to his face along with a little laugh at his reaction to his first shot. 

 

“Hanji kicked a bunch of people out and Sasha was messing up my makeup and we played truth or dare.” His blush darkened at the mention of the game, shifting a little in his seat as he talked about it. 

 

“Shit. I didn’t know you weren’t even tipsy, I… sorry. I can get very… open and… touchy when I’m drunk. It doesn’t happen very much.” He admitted and looked down at his sleeve, picking at a loose string. That was why he normally only drank around Erwin. 

 

Eren glanced up at Levi, watching at the other boy picked nervously at his sleeve. “It’s okay.” He reassured almost too quickly. He didn’t want to exactly come right out and say that he enjoyed it even though he did, he  _ really _ did. But things were already awkward enough. 

 

“I… it’s fine, I promise.” He offered a small smile towards the other boy. “Sasha is the same way.”  _ Kind of.  _ He was struggling with his words, knowing that it didn’t sound as reassuring as he was wanting it to be.

 

“I didn’t mind,” he blurted, his eyes widening and face turning almost too red, the blush spreading even over his ears and down his neck and he looked away, cursing mentally in both English and German and he picked feverently at nails.

 

“Still. I’m sorry. Did you know Sasha was videotaping the whole thing?” He asked and a light blush crept along his ears and down his neck. 

 

Eren nodded even though he was sure that Levi didn’t see him. “She wouldn’t shut up about it,” he muttered and sighed. He knew that he would never live it down, that video was never getting deleted from her phone. “She sent it to most of our friends… which is just Hanji, Marco, Jean and… Connie.” A moment of realization hit Eren like a ton of bricks. If Connie showed anyone else that video, he was fucked. “Fuck.” He groaned, hunching over to hit his forehead on the table. 

 

If that video got out and reached Reiner and Bert, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to survive the rest of the school year.

 

“Well shit. I don’t understand why she’s so excited about it, it’s just a drunk lap dance.” But it had been oh so much more than that. Levi couldn’t help but imagine what it would have felt like if he had pressed their lips together. He wanted to know what they felt like, what it would feel like to run his fingers through Eren’s dark brown hair, if his skin was as soft as it looked…

 

“Alright class, let’s begin our presentations.”

 

Eren felt his heart drop to his stomach, his skin going pale as the minutes ticked by. Student after student presented that wanted to and she finally called on Eren. Every student turned to look at him, watching him expectantly. His hands were shaking, his eyes widening with panic and he slunk back into his seat. Vigorously, he shook his head and a few students looked back at their teacher. 

 

“Levi? How about you? Would you like to present?”

 

Levi glanced at Eren and then back at the teacher before nodding. For some reason, he wanted to show Eren his creation. Normally he’d never present but this time, he wanted Eren to see what he had created because he was proud of it.

 

His presentation took a while as he explained what everything meant. How it was about inner demons, haunting the figure who lay hunched and crying beneath them. That had been him for so many years, and in all honestly it still was. He had poured a lot of emotion into this drawing. Not having a mother, having an abusive father, the dark secrets of his past. Only Erwin really knew everything from his past, but Eren knew what was happening now. He had been the one to help shoo away one of the ink demons splashed on the page.

 

Eren watched as Levi presented with a confidence he didn’t know the shorter boy had within him. It made Eren wish that he could do something like that. He felt like he probably should, being the only one in the whole class that had rejected the opportunity. Even Levi did it. 

 

Levi’s creation was amazing, for lack of a better word. Eren could watch him draw all day, flip through his pictures for hours. He already did with all the comics of Levi’s that he kept in his room like the creep tha the was. Everyone applauded when Levi finished, Eren looking away with shame and embarrassment when their eyes connected for just a split second. He fidgeted in his seat a little, listening as others got up and presented their projects. 

 

“You did a great job,” Eren said quietly, flipping his over so that it was face down to the table. 

 

“Thanks.” He suddenly felt like an idiot. Why did he care so much? He shouldn’t even care. Eren didn’t care, he didn’t care. So Levi shouldn’t care. Fuck, he was just going in circles now. He sighed and pulled out his brand new phone that Kenny had tossed at him that weekend. 

 

**_My place after lunch?_ ** Erwin would know what he meant. They had skipped to be together countless times throughout high school.

 

**_See you then ;)_ **

 

Levi blushed a little. What was with the fucking winky face? A lot of bullshit, that’s what.

 

He couldn’t bring himself to look or talk to Eren again. He felt humiliated because he was an idiot. Now he was going to go home and forget about it, even if only for a few moments.

 

“Hey.” Erwin grinned, putting an arm around Levi’s shoulder and pulling him closer as they exited the cafeteria. “It’s been awhile since we skipped.”

 

“Are you complaining?” Levi glanced up at him.

 

“Not at all.” He smirked.

 

As Eren made his way to his group of friends, they were quiet, all focused on something else. He looked up at where they were staring only to watch as Erwin put an arm around Levi casually, as if it belonged there with a grin on his face. They walked out together, Eren’s friends turning to look at him for an answer. 

 

“God dammit, I was fucking positive that Levi was gay for you.” Sasha groaned, “and there he goes, leaving with Mr. Valedictorian so they can probably fuck in his fancy ass car.” Eren sat quietly, watching as her face fell to a pout and she sighed. 

 

Eren wasn’t exactly sure why, but an unsure feeling settled in the pit of his stomach at the thought of Levi being with Erwin. He didn’t have a right to, he knew that much. Levi could do whatever or  _ whoever  _ he wanted and Eren didn’t have a say in it… as much as he wanted to.

 

\---

“Shit, Erwin. I should make you carry me inside.” He groaned and leaned into him, staring at the building in front of them. 

 

“You have to admit, it was worth it though.” He grinned and leaned down closer to him.

 

“Well, that’s true. But my ass still hurts.”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll massage it for you later.” He winked and leaned forward to steal a soft kiss. Naturally it lead to a few more not so soft kisses. 

 

A loud knocking on the window brought them out of it and Erwin punched the button and the window sid down.

 

“Can I help you?” He huffed.

 

“Get your thirsty asses out of that car and go to class. Wait, are you guys dating? Don’t tell me you are because that would get weird but… whatever. Do you I guess but get to class.” She left it at that and Levi glanced at Erwin as he spoke.

 

“I don’t know about dating but I don’t mind not  _ not  _ dating, you know?” 

 

“Not really. But I mean, you could hold my hand or something I guess.” 

 

“Sounds good.” Erwin grinned and took his hand as they got out of the car.

 

“Why are your hands so big?” Levi mumbled, blushing a little. Sure, they had plenty of physical contact, but it wasn’t usually this innocent or public.

 

“Stop acting like you hate it.” Erwin chuckled deeply, opening the door and herding Levi inside, noticing his slight limp and visible hickies. Oops.

 

Eren stumbled into the hall, pushing his glasses up his nose and he winced slight. He sniffled as he limped down the hall. Reiner and Bert smirked as they watched him make his way down the hall. Eren could feel their eyes watching him intently. 

 

Levi walked past him, Eren half expected him to say something because the other boy always seemed to notice Eren’s small injuries, but this time he didn’t. Instead, Eren noticed that Levi’s attention was taken but something else, rather  _ someone  _ else. Levi held hands with Erwin as they walked down the hallway, Hanji trailing behind with a look that showed she was more than displeased. 

 

With an unsettling feeling in his stomach, Eren avoided Levi all day as much as he could. He sat with Mina during art, away from his friends at lunch and he kept his back turned away from Levi during English. Even if he didn’t have a right to be upset that Levi was dating his best friend, it irritated Eren whenever he saw them together, his unsettled feeling building each time he saw their hands clasped together or their sides pressed together. 

 

“You know,” Sasha tossed a goldfish cracker at Eren’s face to catch his attention so that he would stop glowering at Erwin and Levi, “I think I know why you’ve been acting like this for the past week.”

 

Eren raised an eyebrow, rolling his eyes as he squished his cheek in his palm. “Enlighten me,” he muttered. “I’d love to hear it.”

 

“You want it to be you instead of Erwin.” She said it nonchalantly, shrugging as he occupied herself with something else and Eren let the thought linger. 

 

Shit.... maybe she was right. 

 

And he was fucked.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to ker-fucking-chow, we hope that you enjoy this chapter as a present to you!
> 
> Also, please note that this is a trigger warning. The word "faggot" is used quite a bit and there is a lot of homophobia in this chapter so please read at your own risk. You have been warned and we hope you enjoy!

Levi smiled softly at Erwin and laughed as he opened the door to his house, his and Erwin’s hands clasped together as they entered the house. Levi didn’t care if Kenny saw them holding hands. He knew his uncle had been with men before and it was about time he came out to the world. He was still hidden in the closet and quite frankly, he was tired of that.

“I’m home.” Levi announced, stepping into the living room and freezing at the sight. His uncle wasn’t alone. Sitting next to him was Levi’s favorite person ever, Grisha. Shit. 

“Welcome home. Ooh what do we have here? I didn’t know you two were dating.” Kenny grinned at them and Levi exchanged a glance with Erwin.

“It’s complicated.” Levi replied quietly with a cough. “Why don’t you go up to my room? I’ll  grab us some snack and stuff to drink.” Erwin nodded, squeezing his hand gently before letting go and heading up the stairs to wait for him.

“I’ll be right back, bathroom.” Kenny nodded at Grisha and clapped Levi on the shoulder as he walked past him. Levi turned towards the kitchen and was stopped by Grisha’s words.

“So you’re gay?” The words sent icy chills down his spine.

“Yeah, I am.” He answered flatly without turning to look at Grsha. He knew the man didn’t like levi already. He had no idea what Grisha’s thoughts on homosexuality was either.

Grisha let out a grunt and Levi finally turned to meet his green eyes that were full of hatred and disgust. “I didn’t know you were a faggot. I never liked you from the moment I saw you. Not only are you a bad influence, but you’re a goddamn faggot. Unbelieveable.” He stepped closer to Levi, raising a long finger at his face. Levi tensed, his blood boiling and his ears ringing.

“I don’t want to ever see you around my family. Ever again. Do you hear me? If I even hear about you talking to my son you  _ will  _ regret it. If I ever see you on my property again I will call the cops and that’s a promise.” Before Levi had the chance to even answer, Grisha had picked up his coat and stormed out of the house, leaving Levi to stand in his living room, shaking and clenching his fists in anger.

_ Faggot. _

The word rang in his ear. He knew it didn’t really have any meaning unless you gave it meaning. But it still stung. Even from a man he only held negative feeling for, it felt like a slap across the face.

_ Faggot _ .

“Levi? Where’s Grisha?” Levi ignored him, storming up the stairs and slamming his door behind him. 

“Levi what’s wrong?” Erwin could tell immediately that something was wrong and he stood, only for Levi to immediately burying his face in the blond’s chest to bury the hot tears cascading down his face and fisting his hands in the back of his shirt. Instead of asking him the dozen off questions swimming in his head, he just wrapped his arms around him and let him cry until he fell asleep from exhaustion.

 

**\---**

 

Eren heard the front door open as he sat at the kitchen table, trying to complete the leftover homework he hadn’t done yet. His mom had just left for work, Mikasa already asleep in her room and the house was quiet. His dad walked in, setting his things on the bar and glanced over at Eren before continuing with whatever he was doing. 

“How are your grades?” Eren wanted to groan but instead kept it to himself and focused on the math in front of him. He had been working on it for two hours and still wasn’t getting anywhere. 

“They’re fine,” he shrugged. “All A’s except for a B in math.” He knew better than to lie about his grades, his dad always finding out somehow about how well or not so well he was doing. Grisha didn’t say anything, simply grabbing himself a plate of leftovers and sat at the table with Eren. 

It was quiet, Eren knew there was something coming, his dad hardly ever sat with him unless it was to talk about something serious. He braced himself for it, making the mistake to glance at his father who was watching him solve the math problem he had been working on for at least twenty minutes. “Did you know Levi was gay?” 

The question took Eren by surprise, his pencil slipping a little to create a line through the problem and he paused. All he could think about was the lap dance he had received at the party his parents had no knowledge of that he was going to. He was terrified that somehow they had found out and Eren wouldn’t be allowed out of the house anymore. Which, of course, there were it’s perks. He wouldn’t see Reiner and Bert anymore so he wouldn’t have to worry about them.

“Uh…” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I did. Why?” Setting the pencil down, he leaned back in the chair, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

“You didn’t say anything about it?”

Eren snorted, rolling his eyes a little and crossed his arms over his chest. “Didn’t think it actually mattered? Who cares?” He stood up, making his way to the fridge to grab one of Mikasa’s juices boxes, his body stiffening when his dad spoke up.

“I do. You’re not allowed to be around him anymore.”

Eren whipped around to stare incredulously. “What? You can’t be serious. Dad, that’s not fair.”

“I’m not changing my mind, Eren.” He didn’t bother looking back at the boy, eating his dinner as if they were just talking about the weather. “What’s done is done. You’re not allowed to be around him anymore. If I catch you doing so, you’re moving to that private Christian school your mother and I were looking at before.. Should have moved you there years before anyways.”

“Dad—”

“No, Eren.” His voice was stern and he finally turned to stare at him. It was a look that Eren knew before, one that said there was no chance of him changing his mind. It was set in stone. And Eren knew he couldn’t do anything to possibly fix it.

 

**–--**

 

“Eren, avoiding him isn’t going to solve anything.” Armin sighed, watching at his taller friend ducked his head, walking quickly to avoid Levi seeing him. He had been like this for the past couple weeks, making as minimal contact with the other boy as possible.

He knew it was stupid, pointless really. Eren didn’t know why it bothered him as much as it did to see Levi with Erwin. It was the talk of the school, everyone who was anyone that knew the two upperclassmen had talked about them at least once. It was known that Erwin was openly gay, but no one had suspected that Levi of all people was. 

Let’s just say it was a punch in the face for many of his pining fangirls. 

“I don’t see what the big problem is anyways.” The blond shrugged and Eren sighed. 

“I… I don’t know either,” he admitted honestly. Sasha had already shared her theories as to why Eren was acting the way he was acting, only to be shot down countless times. But it made her believe it even more. Which was the last thing that he needed. 

Armin was quiet for a moment. “Maybe… Sasha is right.” Eren whipped his head to stare at his shorter friend as they walked into the lunchroom, making their way to the table they always sat at. Eren opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped as Armin held up a hand to silence him. “I mean, it makes sense. You’ve been acting strange ever since the party, the lap dance, ever since you saw Levi and Erwin leave together like two mondays ago.”

Eren groaned, slumping down on the seat and hit his forehead on the table. He had been thinking about it, almost too much. There wasn’t anything else that could take his mind off of everything. It was all confusing to him which was partly the reason he had been trying to avoid Levi for two weeks. He was trying to sort out whatever it was that he was feeling in the pit of his stomach and in his chest. A part of him didn’t want to believe that it was what Sasha kept insisting that it was and practically forced himself to keep that out of his brain for the time being.

“Still?” Sasha asked as she skipped up to the table. Eren didn’t hear Armin say anything and assumed he had nodded and a sigh from Sasha came after a quiet moment. “Eren, it’s been two weeks.” She nudged him. “You’re being ridiculous. It was just a party and a stupid lap dance, and he was drunk. Didn’t mean anything. Stop freaking out over it.”

If only it was just that.

“Hey guys,” Eren’s head looked up as a familiar voice came into earshot. “Mind if I sit with you?” She smiled at Eren and he felt a small blush creep on his cheeks and he smiled back. They nodded, looking between her and Eren and watched as she took the seat next to him, setting her books on the table. 

The week prior while Eren was still in his moping stage, Petra —a girl from his AP Chemistry class— had approached him and noticed that there was something off. They talked throughout the whole period, Eren not giving away too many details. He only explained that he wasn’t entirely sure what it was that he liked, having never been with anyone before and she offered to be of assistance. 

Now, they weren’t dating, per say, but it was certainly more than a newfound friendship. Eren still wasn’t sure how to feel about it if he was honest.

“Erwin, let me use your jacket. I’m cold.” He wasn’t wearing it and the school didn’t seem to know what a heater was. The blond chuckled and put it over Levi’s shoulders.

“There, happy now?” He brushed a kiss onto Levi’s cheek as he pulled away and Levi shrugged. 

“You know me, I’m never satisfied.” The raven haired boy smirked.

“Ew, you two are actually disgusting and I’m not loving it.” Hanji curled her lip at them. “You make me want to go and sit with Eren. Speaking of which… have you talked to Eren at all?” She looked at him pointedly, pursing her lips. Levi fell quiet and his smile dropped.

“No. He doesn’t seemed interested in talking to me anymore. I think he’s mad about what happened at the Halloween party.” He shrugged and tried to pretend like it didn’t bother him, except that it did.

Had Eren really found him that disgusting? Levi knew he was straight, but he didn’t know he would potentially lose a friend just because of a lap dance. Well… it had been pretty steamy. But Levi had also been extremely drunk.

 

“I don’t think that’s why he’s avoiding you. I think it’s because you’re under Erwin’s arm, not his.”

“Whatever, Hanji.” He muttered and leaned into Erwin.

“I”m going to sit with them. You two are gross.” She huffed and pranced away, attacking Eren from behind with a loud squeal in his ear.   


Eren jumped when Hanji attacked him, ,groaning and rubbing his ear while she cackled. Petra stood up, grabbing Eren’s hand to drag him to the vending machine with her. Sasha watched intently, noticing Levi and Erwin making their way towards the vending machine that Petra had dragged Eren too. 

“So…” Hanji asked, glancing over to watch as Petra held Eren’s hand, “are Petra and Eren a thing now?”

His friends shrugged. “We don’t know. She just started hanging around suddenly, he hardly fills us in with anything.” 

As they turned, Eren felt his heart rate pick up when he noticed Erwin and Levi walking towards them and Petra pressed herself into Eren’s side as she greeted them. “Oh, hey Erwin. Did you finish the packet for Government?” Eren tried to avert his eyes from the duo in front of him, eyes turning to find his friends who were watching curiously.

Levi’s eyes landed on Eren and stayed there, watching the brunet purposefully avoid looking at him. Well, he wasn’t looking away any time soon. He hoped Eren felt his eyes burn a hole in him, asking him why. He hoped Eren squirmed under his gaze.

“Hey, Eren.” He finally spoke up in an attempt to catch his attention, wondering if the boy would actually respond to him.

Eren felt his heart flutter when Levi said his name, a natural smile coming to his face and he turned his eyes to look at him. “Hey, Levi. Did you finish that picture from art that’s due today?” He tried to keep the conversation as casual as he could, trying not to let his voice waver. 

Levi ignored Eren’s question, his gaze still hard and questioning. He wondered if Grisha had said something to him. He wondered if maybe all along Eren thought the same things as his father.

_ Faggot. _

Even now, the words rang in his ear and caused his chest to tighten. Anger and pain swimming though out him.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

Eren froze at the question, swallowing the thick lump that had formed in his throat. He was nervous that Levi was going to do something to him, something a lot like Reiner and Bert. Of course, it was stupid to think that. He should know that Levi wouldn’t ever hurt him intentionally but he did have that terrifying aura around him that said if he wanted to, he could fuck you up.

“U-uh… I don’t know,” he stuttered out. “Wh-what do you want to talk about?”

“We’ll be right back.” Levi announced suddenly and grabbed Eren’s arm without waiting for protest and steered him to a nearby classroom that was almost always unlocked. 

“I want answers, Eren. You don’t just drop people you called your friend without a reason.” His eyes were harsh but his voice showed the betrayal he felt.

Eren’s heart was pounding as he tried to wiggle his arm from Levi’s vice grip but it was no use. He was tossed into an empty classroom like a ragdoll, something much like Reiner and Bert would do. He lost his footing, stumbling a little into the desk and he turned around, eyes wide as saucers. 

He was shaking, standing behind a desk to keep distance away from him and the other boy. “J-just don’t hit me,” the words came tumbling out of Eren’s mouth before he could stop them and he gripped the desk. It was in this moment that he realized how terrifying Levi really was.

Those words hit him worse than a punch to the jaw. “Is that how lowly you think of me? Do you really believe I would hit you?” His lip quivered for a millisecond before he straightened up.

“I would never hurt you. I just want to know why you’re avoiding me. Give me one good reason and you’ll never have to talk to me again.” There you go, Levi, fucking things up. He’d never meant to scare Eren. He never wanted Eren to think he’d hit him. The idea had never once crossed his mind, and honestly it hurt knowing Eren thought so little of him.

“I-I… no, it’s not. It’s just… that’s what usually happens when I’m thrown into an empty classroom with an angry upperclassmen.” His hands loosened his grip on the desk and he straightened up. He wringed his hands back and forth nervously, trying to fight the tears that wanted to fall. 

There really shouldn’t have been any reason why he wanted to cry. Nothing bad had happened, yet. Levi just wanted to talk, just wanted answers as to why Eren was being a terrible friend. Levi didn’t deserve this kind of treatment especially after everything that he’s been through, after the way that Eren had treated him before. Eren shouldn’t be allowed to call Levi his friend. 

Before he realized it or could stop it, Eren felt a couple tears drip down his cheeks and he sniffled, looking away from Levi in shame. “I’m not allowed around you because you’re gay. My dad said that if I was caught he would send me to a private school. I-I tried to reason with him, I did but he wouldn’t listen to me and I’m sorry.” The words poured out like a waterfall from his lips and more tears came. 

It’s not like Eren couldn’t see his friends outside of school, if he was transferred to a private school, he wouldn’t have to worry about anything but getting settled in a new environment and school uniforms. No bullies, no public school bathrooms. He could hang out with his friends outside of school and even if his dad didn’t like it, Eren could still be around Levi if he wanted to. 

“I… I don’t want you to hate me because of this. I don’t hate you, I really don’t. I… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad switching schools if it meant I could keep you as a friend,” he admitted, his red, puffy eyes still watery as they glanced up to meet Levi’s.

Levi felt like an asshole. Would it be his fault if Eren was forced to switch schools? The again, he had been acting up and ignoring Levi before Grisha even found out.

“You’ve been ignoring me since way before your dad found out I was gay. Why else have you been avoiding me? I know it’s not just because of your father. Do you hate that I’m gay? Does it make you uncomfortable to be around someone like me? Do you think I’d hurt you if you said you didn’t want to be friends anymore? If you don’t like me because I’m gay then stop hiding behind your father and be honest to me. I’m not going to touch you. I just… I need to hear it from your mouth and then you don’t need to see me again.” Levi had ways of avoiding people. He’d been thinking of dropping out anyways. He was busy outside of school anyways and it was getting annoying.

“What? No, no, no, no. I don’t give a flying fuck that you’re gay, Levi. One of my best friends is gay. If I cared, I wouldn’t have any friends, hell, I would have slapped you and shoved you away during that lap dance.” Eren was surprised all of this was coming out. He hadn’t actually meant for it to, but some of the things that Levi had said irked him in a way that he couldn’t help it. 

“It would actually really upset me if we weren’t friends anymore,” he admitted, hating the way his voice cracked and his eyes swelled with more tears. “I don’t think you’d hurt me, but I’ve been pushed around and bullied enough times that it just comes out as a reflex, and yes, I am admitting that I’m being bullied. Big fucking whoop.” He ran a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut, willing the tears to go back to their hiding place behind his eyes and never to come back out in front of Levi again. 

His hands were shaking, his knees felt weak and he couldn’t look at Levi as he folded his arms tightly over his chest. A long moment of silence filled between them and Eren scuffed the ground with his shoe. “I just… I don’t know… how to explain it. I never meant to… ignore you. There’s just been a lot on my mind and I’m trying to figure things out and sort through some things and…” Finally, he gave up with holding back tears and let them fall, turning away from Levi in embarrassment. He knew that he must look pathetic to the older boy, crying over something so pity and stupid but Eren couldn’t help it. It’s what happened when he became frustrated with a situation and he didn’t know how to deal with it. 

“Are… you and Erwin dating?” He finally asked quietly, refusing to meet Levi’s eyes.

“What? No. What the fuck does that have to do with anything? I want to know why you’re ignoring me and your answer is I don’t know? I understand that you’re going through some stuff but if you cared I would think you’d just say you needed space or something instead of just ignoring me. I thought I had three friends but I guess I only have two in the end. It’ll be easier this way. You won’t have to leave your friends and I can go be as gay as I want.” He took a deep breath to calm himself before turning to leave the classroom. Well, the school really. Why should he stick around?

He had somewhere else to be and he really needed a cigarette right about now.

 

**\---**

 

Eren picked at the sleeves of his sweater as he sat on the couch, listening as his parents worked in the kitchen. He wanted to help, but his mother had noticed something was wrong and sent him away to clean up the spotless living room. Things had been tense between Grisha and Eren, the latter often avoiding his father every time he was home. 

Carla knew there was something wrong but didn’t pry unless she felt that she needed to. “Grisha, do you know what’s been up with Eren lately?” She asked, helping Mikasa carry the plates to the table. 

Grisha shrugged. “No. He’s always having mood swings. Just a teenager thing.” He hadn’t bothered with telling his wife about the chat he had with Levi, felt that it wasn’t needed. He knew that she would go off on him and they would have another big argument. “Just let him be. He’ll be fine after dinner.”

Eren could hear them talking about him in the kitchen, but he didn’t bother with speaking up. He sat there listening, zoning in and out of their conversation. His mind had been preoccupied with other things, well with one other thing, or rather one  _ person _ . Eren felt terrible about the conversation he and Levi had earlier that week. Hated that they didn’t speak or see each other and now it was thanksgiving break and who knew if they were to ever speak to each other again. Eren felt that no matter what his dad was going to transfer him to a different school whether Eren wanted to be moved or not. 

It wasn’t about his choice. 

It never was. 

“Eren, honey? Are you feeling okay?” He looked up as his mother walked up behind him, ruffling his hair gently and crouched down in front of him. He shrugged, looking away from her, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back if he looked at her. “You look a bit pale, are you getting sick?” She pressed a gentle hand to his forehead, feeling for a fever and sighed. 

“I’m fine, mom. Promise.” He offered a weak smile that he knew she wouldn’t believe but she didn’t pry any further and stood up, kissing his forehead. 

“Oh, by the way, I invited Kenny and Levi over for dinner so you should go wash up before they arrive.” She smiled at him before walking back into the kitchen and Eren groaned quietly to himself, running a hand over his face and through his hair. He wasn’t sure that he was going to be able to survive through this dinner. 

“Levi, get your ass out that door right now. I let you do whatever you want and all I’m asking for is one Thanksgiving together. I can’t cook for shit, that’s why we’re going over to the Jaeger’s. In the car, now.”

“No. I’m not welcome there anymore.” Where was the lie, honestly.

“Since when? You’ve always been welcome. Carla is excited to have you over. Why wouldn’t you be welcome?” 

“Because I’m gay.” The words were out of Levi’s mouth before he could stop them and he bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

“What? What does that have to do with anything? Levi, they’re good people. They don’t care that you’re gay.” Levi snorted in response to that. 

“Grisha told me if I ever come to his house again he’ll call the cops on my _ faggot _ ass.” Levi could practically see the shift. Kenny suddenly stood a little straighter. 

“Did he? He doesn’t have the guts. Carla would whoop his ass. Get in the car, I have a few words for Grisha.” His voice was cold, his eyes narrowed slightly. That really seemed to have pissed him off. Levi hesitated, but did exactly as he said. He didn’t want to miss this for sure. In fact, they were there in record time and Grisha wasted no time lunging at Levi as he stepped over the threshold into their house past Carla’s warm greeting.

“What the hell are you doing here? You’re not allowed in our home.” Grisha snarled, not paying any mind to Carla who stared incredulously at her husband. Mikasa wasted no time as she ran over to Levi, hugging his legs excitedly.

“And why is that, Grisha? We were invited here by Carla.” He stood tall. Grisha may be taller than him, but Kenny seemed much more formidable in those moments. Levi picked up Mikasa and handed her to Carla. He didn’t want to see either of them get involved.

Eren stood at the top of the stairs, freezing when he heard the booming voice of his father ringing throughout the house. “This has nothing to do with you, Kenny. This is my home and if I don’t want someone in it, then I would rather that person not be around my family."

“Go upstais and find your brother.” Carla said softly to Mikasa, shooing her up the stairs. “Grisha, what’s going on?” 

He turned to her, the next string of words coming out in German for the sole purpose of Kenny and Levi not being able to understand.  _ “Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?”  _  Eren could have scoffed, laughing at the fact that his father felt that he had such power over his mother. But he knew it wasn’t long before Levi was going to speak up over using another language in front of him.

“Carla invited my Uncle and I over for dinner. I’m not here to infect you with my  _ gay _ , promise.” Levi sneered, unable to contain his anger as he hissed at Carla in German. He hated it when they did that in the middle of talking.

Eren couldn’t help but snort at that, laughing a little at Levi’s bite behind his words. He didn’t care if it got him in trouble.Unfortunately for Grisha, Eren had already caught Levi’s gay and there wasn’t anything he could do to change it. 

“ _ Excuse _ me?” Eren knew by the tone of his mother’s voice that it was veered towards his father. She loved Levi too much to use such a jarring and stern tone at him. Kenny, maybe, but definitely not Levi. Eren slowly descended down the stairs, holding Mikasa’s hand as they tried to be as quiet as possible. “Levi, sweetheart, I don’t know what you’re talking about but you should know that you’re  _ always _ welcome here.”

Finally, Eren stepped in, picking Mikasa up and setting her on his hip as he walked through them. “If you’re so afraid of  _ catching Levi’s gay _ , maybe you should just leave.” Eren jabbed at his father as he grabbed his coat along with Mikasa’s. Eren made his way outside with his sister, knowing that it was bound to get uglier than it already was.

Kenny stole a breath. Normally he would high-five Eren for that but he was too angry. “Look, I’m not here to cause problems. I’m here because I want answers. I want to know what you told Levi and why. I understand he may not be your favorite person ever, but we’ve been friends for so many years. Since when were you homophobic, huh?”

Carla crossed her arms, turning to face her husband. “You know, I’d like to know as well. You’ve never been like this before. Never have you cared about people being gay. What if Eren was gay? What would you do then? Disown him?”

Little did they know that Eren had the backdoor popped open just a tad bit, hit ear pressed to the crack so that he could hear the conversation. He snorted quietly to himself.  _ Too late for that,  _ he thought to himself. 

“Have you forgotten about your sophomore year of college at that Halloween party?”

Grisha turned to look at her, a smug smirk crossing her usually joyful and warm smiling face. He hissed at her in German once again, Eren’s eyes narrowing.  _ “We don’t ever talk about that.” _ Eren wanted to pop his head in and ask but figured that it would be best to just listen. 

“Why not? Because you chose not to live that lifestyle? You don’t have to agree with anyone being gay, but you don’t have to be an asshole. You don’t become gay, you’re born like that. Nobody makes you gay. If you want to keep this idea of thinking, then don’t ever speak to me again.” His words were firm and sharp. Levi sucked in a breath. That was twenty plus years of friendship hanging in the balance.

“You know, Kuchel would whoop your ass for treating her son in such a way, in fact, I should do it for her.” Carla’s words dripped with a tone that Eren had never heard before. It caused a cold shiver to run down his spine at the sound of it. 

Grisha didn’t say anything else, walking away to lock himself in his office like usual and Carla sighed. “You don’t need to stay, I’m sure that you don’t want to but at least let me give you two some food that you can take home and have your own small thanksgiving dinner.” 

Levi’s mouth went dry at the mention of his mother. “I’m not hungry. I’m going to take a walk.” He didn’t wait for any of them to protest before he left, letting the gate swing behind him with a sigh. He felt bad for coming here with Kenny. As much as Levi hated Grisha and was upset with Eren, he wanted Carla, Eren, and Mikasa to enjoy their Thanksgiving. He’d obviously never had a Thanksgiving, but he’d seen what they were in movies. They were supposed to be happy and fun events with family. Even if Grisha wasn’t against Levi, he probably shouldn’t have come anyways. Levi wasn’t family because Levi didn’t have one. He never had.

Eren ushered Mikasa inside, running out the fence gate and after Levi. He knew that he didn’t have the right to go after him but he felt like he needed to. That he  _ should. _ “Levi!” He called after the other boy, running as fast as he could to catch up to him. “Levi, wait up!”

Levi didn’t stop or slow down. He wasn’t in control of his emotions at that moment, he was a hurricane of feelings that he didn’t know how to address. His heart was aching for so many reasons, the biggest one being Eren. He really liked the brunet, as much more than a friend. He recognized that and it made him want to run far away from Eren. He wanted to protect their friendship but he’d only ruined it.

Eren let out a grunt and ran after the other boy, grabbing his arm once he was in reach and jerked him to a stop. When he was sure that Levi wouldn’t walk away, he bent over, palms pressed to his knees as he took a few deep breaths to get his heart to a normal heart rate. 

“Fuck,” he rasped breathlessly, hair disheveled as he glanced as Levi above the rim of his glasses that sat on the tip of his nose. “Where are you going?” He asked, breath still coming out in pants. He had run more in those fast few minutes than he had in the last few years.

Levi shrugged, watching as Eren stooped to catch his breath. His hair was ruffled in just the right way, his cheeks flushed, his shirt pulled up over so slightly to display a strip of skin Levi couldn’t help but glance at. “I don’t know. I was just… walking.”

Eren straightened up, lifting his arms above his head to catch his breath and he shook his head to take care of his ruffled hair. “I’m sorry about… him.” He looked over Levi’s face, eyes taking in every detail. He could sense the emotion floating around in Levi’s eyes and it made his heart ache for a reason he couldn’t name. 

“... that probably was going to be our first thanksgiving in a long time and then he just ruined it and I’m sorry.” He sighed, dropping his hands to shove them into the front pockets of his jeans and he rocked back and forth on his heels.

“I’m sorry for ruining it. I shouldn’t have come. I guess I don’t have much regards to holidays. I’m not used to them, I forget they’re special or whatever.” He sighed. Most days were pretty much the same old same for him.

Eren scuffed his foot against the sidewalk. “You don’t need to apologize for it. You deserve a good holiday as much as anyone else. My dad is just an asshole and didn’t have the right to kick you out out of our house just because he’s afraid of something it sounded like he experimented with back in college. Knowing mom, she'll invite you back over anyways. Mikasa misses having you over.” When he glanced over at Levi again, he smiled a little, reaching over to pick a leaf from his hair.

Levi paused as he did that, catching Eren’s hand gently before he could pull away. “Holidays are just another day to me. I never really celebrated them.” He admitted with a shrug. He didn’t let go of Eren’s hand and just held it near his head. Something about his warmth and the contact was almost comforting, even though he didn’t deserve any comfort.

Eren’s heart was beating out of his chest at the contact, he almost wanted to link their fingers together and brush his fingers over Levi’s cheek. “I’m sure that you did when you were younger,” he said softly, a small smile coming to his face and he felt a blush spread over his face. “And that’s not to say that you still can’t when you’re older.” Eren stretched out his fingers to brush some of Levi’s bangs away from his forehead before he could stop himself. 

He cleared his throat, but didn’t pull his hand away. “So, you’re sure you’re not dating Erwin? It’s… kind of the talk of the school.”

Levi dropped Eren’s hand with a sigh and started walking. “I’m not dating Erwin. I don’t like him as more than a friend.  I guess… I guess I’m trying to. I’m trying to forget… about someone else.” He admitted and his chest constricted. He hated thinking about how much the rest of this year would suck while he tried to get over Eren.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He stepped forward and caught Levi’s hand again, holding it a little tighter than Levi had held his. “Don’t just walk away, please. I just wanted to know, that’s all. It just… with the way you act around each other, holding hands, smiling, all that stuff, it makes it kind of hard not to think that you’re dating. Because you sure are kind of acting like it.”

“I’m trying to have feelings for him. It would be easier for both off us if we had feelings for eachother. Then we could forget the people that neither one of us can have. What about you and that Patricia girl? Are you two dating?”

Eren dropped Levi’s hand. “Her name is Petra, and no, we’re not dating. She’s in my AP Chemistry class. She saw that I was upset about some things and she offered to held me through them.” He shrugged. “I’m trying to convince myself out of liking someone that I shouldn’t.” He suddenly felt stupid saying that out loud and he sighed. “I guess I don’t really have a right to be asking you a bunch of questions when I’m kind of doing the same thing. I’m sorry. I should… probably go. I don’t want to make you even more upset with me than you already seem.” With a defeated sigh, Eren turned to walk away and started making his way back home. 

“I… Eren, wait.” He grabbed Eren’s hand, turning him around. “Please don’t leave.” He whispered quietly and stepped closer so their faces were less than an inch apart. “I’m sorry I’m such an asshole,” he whispered and looked down.

“I’m no good with words or saying what I feel or anything that’s on my mind I just…” He hesitated, and finally he couldn’t hold himself back from pressing their lips together. Levi was so caught up in his own hurricane of emotions, it was his first instinct.

Eren’s eyes widened, the world stopping as Levi closed the distance between their lips. It felt as though Eren’s heart had dropped, his head spinning. Before he could realize what he was doing, his arms reached out and pushed Levi away, his hand reaching up to slap across Levi’s face. Eren could feel tears filling his eyes and he stepped back with eyes of fear and shock at what had just happened,  _ what he just did.  _

Before Levi could say anything, Eren turned and ran away as fast he could, tears spilling down his face involuntarily. His mother nor Kenny could say something fast enough as he rushed into the house, racing up the stairs and slammed the door to his bedroom. He pressed his back against the door, mind whirling as it tried to process what happened. 

That was his first kiss. 

_ Levi was his first kiss. _

Shaky fingers reached up to brush lightly over Eren’s lips, tears staining his cheeks for reasons he couldn’t explain just yet and he slid down the door until he cradled his knees to his chest. Finally, it sunk in, small hiccups escaping from Eren’s throat. He couldn’t believe he had just slapped Levi. 

He  _ slapped  _ Levi. 

And he wasn’t sure how he was going to live with himself for it.

Levi held his hand up to his stinging cheek and closed his eyes. Fuck, Levi.

_ Why _ did he have to go and do that? 

He knew that had been an asshole move. Levi had deserved that slap and more. He knew he deserved it, but the rejection still hurt. He didn’t have any right to feel hurt by it though. He knew he never had a chance. He knew Eren didn’t want to be kissed by him but he had a moment of weakness where he almost seemed to lose control of himself and he already regretted it.

“You just can’t help fucking everything up, can you?” He whispered into his hand. 

If he was luck, maybe Eren would forgive him.

But when had Levi ever been so lucky.


	13. Chapter 13

Drumming his fingers on his legs, Eren brought the end of his pencil up to his mouth, chewing slightly on the end of it as he stared at the paper in front of him. He had managed to convince Mrs. Huber to let him skip art once again so he sat in the library to do his assignment instead. He didn't give her a reason why, but she could tell there was something wrong. And if he wasn't sitting in the library, he was sitting with Mina instead, never crossing to the other side of the room.

 

His friends had easily noticed that there was something wrong, he had missed the first two days of school after break without reason and he had gone quiet, like there was something wrong. They didn't know about the kiss, the slap, anything that had happened at home. His parents arguing all nights yelling and bickering nonstop mostly over the way Grisha had treated Levi, his homophobia, there was something about a woman Eren didn't know. 

 

His parents had been arguing a lot more lately, usually it's a fight maybe twice a week, sometimes even three times but it was starting to escalate and Eren would be lying if he said it didn't affect him. He wished it didn't, acted like it didn't because he needed to be strong for Mikasa. And adding the drama of Levi kissing him didn't help Eren one bit. Granted, it was all he could think about and in the two weeks he had avoided the other boy, he had made the small discovery that he… didn't mind it as much as he thought he had when it happened.

 

He had only slapped Levi out of shock, it was his first reaction. He had wanted to apologize, thought all weekend during the rest of his break about how he was going to approach the other boy but could never bring himself to.

 

Eren didn't realize that the time had gone by so quickly, already falling into study period and students flooded in. He remained in his seat and looked back down at the sketch in front of him. It had already started snowing, Mikasa constantly had been bugging Eren to take her to the park to play in the snow with other kids and he decided that he was going to sketch a picture for his mother for christmas. 

 

“Ooh, look who we have here.” Eren's blood ran cold when he heard the lower voice above him and his hand gripped the pencil in his hand. 

 

Levi wasn't the only one he had been avoiding.

 

Levi kept his head down, his attention appearing to be focused on the notebook in front of him. In reality, his focus was far away. He felt guilty for what he had done to Eren. He must seem so disgusting to him too. What was worse than being kissed by a gay man when you were straight? Well, he wouldn’t know. 

 

The moment the bell sounded, he shoved his notebook into his bag and stood, practically dashing out of the room and heading up to the library. It was always quiet and pretty peaceful there and he needed that right now. He needed to collect his thoughts and figure out how he would apologize to Eren for being an asshole.

 

He was very much aware that the brunet had been avoiding him for the past couple of weeks and he hated it. He just wanted to fix their friendship. Levi felt a lot more than friendship for Eren, but he just wanted to stay beside him. He wanted to see Eren happy and enjoy life for once. Granted, enjoying life wasn’t Levi’s specialty but he could try.

 

“Leave me alone, Reiner.” Eren murmured and pulled his notebook closer to him. While sitting in the library, he had decided to calm himself and his nerves by sketching. At first, he had found himself sketching Levi, much like the other pictures that filled his notebook. It was honestly a bit creepy that he practically had a full notebook full of the other boy’s face but Eren couldn’t help it. It always brought a smile to his face when he did. 

 

Reiner scoffed, placing his hands on the table so that Eren could see them and he cowered away slightly. “Oh, so just because you’ve been avoiding us makes you think that you can just _tell_ us what to do?”

 

Before Eren knew what was happening and before he could hide his notebook any further from Reiner, it was ripped out from his hands and held above his head. “Aww, how cute.” Reiner mocked, a snarky smirk covering his face. “Looks like you’ve been a bit busy haven’t you?” Bert stood behind him and smirked as well as he looked at the drawings over Reiner’s shoulder. 

 

“Aww, does someone have a little crush?” Bert asked and Reiner laughed.

 

“Give it back.” Eren practically begged and stood up, pushing the chair back as he leaned on the table to try and grab his notebook back. He knew that it would be futile since both Reiner and Bert were much taller and much bigger than Eren. 

 

Reiner turned to look at Eren, giving his shoulder a harsh shove. “Sit the fuck down,” he scoffed and Eren stumbled a little. His heart was racing in his chest and he didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure that he could handle his drawings being ripped, he was already upset and he was sure that this would send him overboard into a possible mental breakdown.

 

Levi stepped inside the library and stopped, eyes narrowing on two giants that appeared to be harassing Eren. One held a notebook out of the brunet’s reach whilst the other laughed and watched on, more of a bystander than a participant. 

 

“Who are you?” Levi’s tone was sharp and stern, his features solid as he stared up at them. He may only be five-foot-three, but he wasn’t afraid of them. He’d put men their size in the hospital before.

 

Eren didn’t think that this could get any worse, but he was wrong. He was dead wrong. The last person he expected to be there was Levi.  _ Levi _ of all people. The one person who possibly hated him now. He half expected Levi to join in on the taunting and mocking, but he didn’t. 

 

Levi didn’t look at Eren despite the fact that Eren was staring at Levi, mostly out of shock. It didn’t seem to shock Reiner, only make him even more pissed off. He looked down at Levi, the height difference one of the scarier things between the three of them. 

 

“Can I help you shrimp?” Reiner sneered, slightly raising an eyebrow and he looked Levi over and kept the notebook out of reach. 

 

“Is that your notebook?” He didn’t look at Eren, didn’t move, just stared straight up at him. This kid was such a poser. Just an insecure little brat who thought that he would get something out of it if he hurt others.

 

“This has nothing to even do with you.” Reiner handed the notebook to Bert who flipped through the pages and glanced back at Levi. Eren was terrified. He didn’t want there to be a fight that was his fault, this was all his fault and he didn't know what to do. “Why don’t you run along and model for someone else.”

 

“Is that your notebook?” His tone was dark, his expression darker. With every moment that passed, the more his presence grew. Levi knew how to be invisible, but he also knew what made his presence almost overwhelming.

 

“What’s it to you?”

 

“If it’s not yours, do you have permission to be holding it?” He said in almost a bored tone of voice.

 

“Just fucking leave.” Reiner rolled his eyes. “No one asked you. This isn’t any of your fucking business. Go back to what you’re good at, sucking Erwin’s dick.”

 

“One, my sex life is none of your business. Two, you made it my business. Want to know why?” He leaned in closer, “That’s my best friend’s notebook you’re flipping through without his permission.”

 

Reiner laughed in Levi’s face. It scared Eren even more, but he couldn’t lie about the fact that it made him feel a bit happy and relieved that Levi called him his best friend. 

 

“Oh please. He’s just some loser, like he actually has any friends. Why the fuck else would he just draw  _ you _ in his free time?” Reiner smirked at Eren and Eren felt his face flare up in embarrassment and it made him want to melt into the ground and disappear.

 

Levi completely ignored the jab, grabbing Reiner’s collar and pulling him down this level in a heartbeat. “Why don’t you fuck off before you really start to piss me off.”

 

Eren was not expecting to watch Levi jump up slightly and grab Reiner’s collar, only to pull him down to eye level with a dark glare. Most of the people around them were quite surprised too and Eren was thankful that they were in more of a secluded area of the library so that the librarians didn’t really bother with checking otherwise they would all be in trouble. 

 

Reiner shoved Levi away angrily, straightening his shirt as he glared at Levi. “And what the fuck is a goblin like you going to do? You can’t fucking do anything like your pathetic boyfriend over here.” He jabbed a thumb in Eren’s direction and Eren flinched slightly in fear that Reiner was going to do something to him.

 

“Are you willing to bet on that?” Levi rolled up his sleeves, flexing a little. He was honestly itching for a fight recently. It had been so long since he had a good fight, although he doubted the blonde giant would last more than fifteen seconds.

 

Eren couldn’t take his eyes off of Levi, watching his every movements. He had to admit when Levi flexed and rolled up his sleeves, the other boy was hot as all fuck. He didn’t want there to be a fight, it was going to be his fault after all because he couldn’t take care of his own problems. 

 

Reiner didn’t say anything, at least Eren didn’t hear if he did or not because he was too busy focused on Levi and let out a yelp of pain when a fist connected with his cheek, sending him backwards and onto the ground. 

 

Levi didn’t hesitate and he grabbed the boy’s arm, twisting it behind his back and using his own foot to target the back of his knee, knocking him to the ground and grabbing a fistful of his hair.

 

“Are you fucking stupid?”

 

Eren wasn’t sure what was happening, the wind had been knocked at out of him from Reiner’s punch and his head hurt like hell. He brought up his hand to his face as brought it back to reveal blood.

 

There was a lot of commotion and yelling and when he glanced over Reiner and Levi were all over each other, punching and kicking and it took too many staff members to make their way in and pull them apart. Eren finally sat up slowly, using the chair for leverage to pull himself up. He saw his notebook on the ground and instantly went for it, grabbing it before anyone else could and collapsed on the chair. 

 

Levi was vaguely aware of what happened next. Duck, punch, dodge, kick. Reiner managed to land a few blows, definitely breaking a rib or two and break skin. He was inexperienced, but had immense brute strength behind his blows. 

Now he sat in the principal’s office, grudgingly picking at the edge of a bandage protecting hs torn knuckles. Levi didn’t hold back, fueled by rage for the most part. He suspected the giants were the one giving Eren hard time, and he had no problem standing up for Eren.

 

Kenny was there within ten minutes, hitting him on the back of the head as he entered and sitting beside him. He pretty much tuned out from here as they talked about what happened and everything he’d done wrong, blah blah blah.

 

Within a half hour he was leaving with Kenny. “What the fuck, Levi? If you’re going to fight at least take it off school grounds.” He snorted in response.

 

“That’s too much work. He wa harassing Eren and looking for a fight, what else was I supposed to do?”

 

“You could’ve at least held back.”

 

“I broke a rib. Do you want me to die? Besides, what fun is that?”

 

“You little shit, get in the car.”

 

Eren didn’t know how long he was sitting in the nurse's office, Reiner and Bert leaving him alone as he left the ice pack on his face. He wanted to cry if he was honest. Some due to the pain but most due to the fact of everything that happened. 

 

It was his fault that Levi was getting suspended and he felt even more horrible than he already did. His mother was there in record time, meeting him in the Principal’s office. She gasped when she saw him, holding his face gently and turning his head to get a better look at the bruise that was starting to form on his face. 

 

He tuned in and out as it was explained to her what exactly happened and that he wasn’t the one who was getting in trouble. It upset him, not that he knew why. She took him home afterwards, allowing him to lay on the couch with an ice pack pressed to his cheek while he watched a movie, not that he was actually watching it. 

 

It was pathetic that he cried that night, not really able to sleep as he flipped through the pages of his notebook mindlessly, staring at some of the damages that had been caused because of Reiner before he tossed it off his bed.

 

\---

 

Levi didn’t see anyone from school for a while. Not Hanji or Erwin or Eren. Honestly, he couldn’t even be surprised. He doubted Eren would talk to him again and he had told Erwin that things just weren’t going to work out. Erwin was a good fuck but his feelings were with the lanky brunet.

Around Thanksgiving he had started to get into his old habits, but now he was sneaking out on a nightly basis, rarely even using the front door anymore and not bothering with talking to Kenny. Each day he itched more and more for a fight. Each moment he itched more and more for a cigarette. He knew they were horrible for you, but honestly he couldn’t care less. Let them kill him, it would take years anyways.

 

It had been two weeks since his suspension and he was currently on break, but in all honesty he hadn’t been home much since then. He spent his nights out on the streets with his old friends. Even after all this time, he was still considered with a certain regard for his skills. 

 

“Yo, Levi.” One of them walked up to him, all baggy jeans and oversized shirt.

 

“What do you want? I’m busy.” He growled, pinning a man under him, a cigarette hanging loosely between his lips.

 

“There’s some kid looking for you over on main. Brown hair, annoying. You want us to take care of him?”

 

A glance of surprised passed over his features briefly before he threw the man underneath him away and stood straight. “No, I’ll take care of it.”

 

It was Christmas Eve and Eren had finally convinced his mom to let him go visit Levi. It had been way too long since Eren had last saw him and even longer since they had talked. He wanted to set things straight. 

 

He grabbed Levi’s present, it wasn’t really a present, just something that he used as an excuse to see Levi. As he made his way over to the other boy’s house, he looked up at the snow that was falling, a blanket already layering the lawns and sidewalks. He adjusted his beanie and was thankful that he had been able to find his contacts so that he wouldn’t have to worry about his glasses becoming fogged or smeared from the snow. 

 

“Eren! It’s good to see you kiddo!” Kenny greeted him with a smile and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. “I’m guessing you’re here to see Levi?”

 

Eren nodded with a slight blush and a little smile. 

 

“He should be up in his room, go on up.” He ruffled Eren’s hair and smiled before walking off. As Eren made his way up, his could feel his heart racing even faster with each step he took. He was getting increasingly nervous, not really sure what he wanted to say to the other boy. 

 

When he finally arrived, he knocked softly a couple times, waiting for Levi to answer. Except he didn’t.

 

Eren's eyebrows narrowed slightly in confusion and knocked again only there was still no answer. Slowly, Eren turned the doorknob and poked his head in. 

 

“Uh… Hey Kenny?” Eren spoke up as he walked into the living room. He looked up from his papers with raised eyebrows. “Levi isn't there.” 

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Eren cleared his throat. “Levi isn't in his room.”

 

Kenny narrowed his eyes and cursed under his breath in what sounded to be French and he threw his papers on the couch next to him and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a few moments, he looked back up at Eren. 

 

“Do you have his friend’s numbers?” 

 

It took a couple tries before Eren could finally get ahold of Hanji to ask her if Levi was with them. When he found out that he wasn’t, Eren asked if she knew where he could be or if he was with Erwin. Eren grabbed his coat, throwing it on as he made his way to the front door. 

 

“I’m going to go out and look for him. I’ll keep you posted,” he called out to Kenny before making his way out. 

 

Because it was winter, it was getting darker faster and the snow was still falling. He hugged his arms, careful of his beanie as he pulled it down over his ears. He asked around, finding a few people to ask if they had seen Levi but to no avail. 

 

Finally, he reached a group of guys, a bit suspicious looking if Eren was honest but his mind was too worried about Levi and where he could be to focus on his own safety. 

 

“Excuse me, uh…” Eren swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, as he looked at the group of four or five guys that stared at him. “I’m looking for a friend. He’s uh… kinda pale and short, black hair with an undercut. Have you seen him around anywhere?”

 

The way they exchanged glances made Eren even more nervous and one smirked at him a little, stepping closer. “And if we have?”

 

“Could you point me in the direction of where you last saw him?”

 

“What’s in it for us?” Another one asked and stepped closer just like the other. Eren was starting to feel a bit unsafe and backed up a couple steps but he wasn’t able to get far when he bumped into another person behind him and he turned around to see a much taller man smirking down at him, tattoos covering his knuckles and his neck. 

They pushed him around a bit, Eren too weak and scared to do anything to defend himself and it was sad to say that he was used to such treatment. He whimpered a little when he was shoved to the ground, wiping snow from his face and tried to curl up a little when feet nudged at him, hands patting his pockets for anything valuable. 

 

“Hey. Let him go.” Levi stood there, face emotionless and hands in his pockets. He pulled one out to hold the cigarette between his lips. “I can guarantee he doesn’t have anything valuable on him.” He stepped closer, pulling a drag off the cigarette and releasing it after a moment. Fortunately, he had their full and undivided attention.

 

“We’re just havin’ a little fun with him. Look at him snivel. Why do you care anyways?” Levi’s expression grew dark and he stepped forward.

 

“Scram, kids.”

 

They groaned simultaneously, a couple of them getting in a few extra kicks before walking away to bug someone else. 

 

Eren sniffled, not wanting to look at Levi in fear that he might do something as well. He sat up, his clothes now soaking wet from lying in the snow and being pushed around. He didn’t know what to do with himself now. He had wanted to find Levi and there he was, standing over him smoking a cigarette. 

 

He cradled his wrist a little. “Uh… thanks.” He said quietly.

 

“Come on, let’s get you home.” He said it gently, putting the cigarette out in the snow and sticking it in his pocket before putting an arm around him and helping him up.

 

“You shouldn’t be out here at this time. These streets are dangerous.”

 

“I was looking for you.” Eren admitted and leaned into Levi slightly as he felt Levi’s arm wrap around him. “And what are you doing out here anyways? It’s Christmas Eve. Kenny is worried about you… so was I.”

 

He shrugged. “Christmas Eve doesn’t mean shit to me. There’s no reason for anyone to be worried about me. Come on I’ll walk you to your street.”

 

Eren limped a little as they walked and he wrapped his arm around Levi’s shoulders to help give himself have better balance. “I went to give you a present but you weren’t in your room.” Eren murmured and glanced at the ground. “And I wanted to talk to you because it’s been a long time since we’ve actually had a conversation and a lot has happened and I wanted to apologize to you and also thank you.” 

 

He didn’t look at Eren and it suddenly felt as if his chest wasn’t big enough, constricting to the point where his heart was in his throat. All he knew was it hurt, somehow hearing those words hurt.

 

“You don’t need to pretend to be nice to me.” He said quietly, the memory of Eren’s hand as it struck him seemed more painful than breaking a bone. 

 

Eren narrowed his eyes and stopped walking, removing Levi’s arm from him and he dropped his arm from around Levi’s shoulders. “I’m not  _ pretending _ to do anything.” He tried to keep his voice even, heart racing. “You can’t just assume things, Levi.” He could feel himself getting overly emotional, it was the only thing he seemed to be good at. 

 

“I…” He took in a deep breath and he could feel tears start to form in his eyes and he looked away. “I’m sorry… about Thanksgiving.” It hurt to even think about it, every time that he did he hated himself more. Levi was his best friend. And he had potentially ruined their friendship because his body couldn’t process the fact that Levi had taken his first kiss. “That was…  _ so _ unnecessarily uncalled for and unfair to you and I just… it was a dick move on my part. I was just… really shocked.” He paused for a moment. “That was my first kiss.” His last sentence came out more as a murmur more than anything and he couldn’t bring himself to look up at Levi.

 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. It must suck to have your first kiss taken by a man.” He couldn’t bring himself to look at Eren. “Just pretend like it never happened. It doesn’t count as your first kiss if you didn’t do it back. I was just being a dick.”

 

Eren didn’t say anything for a moment. “It’s not to say that I didn’t like it,” he admitted sheepishly. “It’s just… I was shocked and not expecting it.” He shrugged a little and put his hands in his pockets. “What if I wanted to count it as my first kiss?”

 

“Just pretend it never happened. We haven’t talked in over a month. I don’t want it to be like this.” He said quietly. He knew he wouldn’t get more than a friendship, but at this point it felt like they didn’t even have that.

 

“Are we still friends?” Eren asked quietly, hopefully. “I mean… you did call me your best friend and you got suspended because of me. That has to count for something.” Eren finally looked up at him, smiling a little in hopes to lighten the mood. 

 

“I’d like that.” They walked in silence for a while, stopping at the end of Eren’s street. 

 

“Well, this is where I stop.” Levi had a sudden urge to tell Eren how he felt. Not to feel their lip touch, but for Eren to really know. He didn’t know why, but it was a very powerful urge.

 

“Can I say something and have you forget I ever said it?” He asked softly, looking up at the sky and biting his lower lip.

“Hm?” Eren glanced at him. “Yeah, of course.” A little smile came over his face as he looked at Levi to try and reassure him that it was okay. 

 

“I really like you. As more than a friend. That’s all I wanted to say, I needed to say it out loud once. Please, forget I ever said it. Have a good night, Eren.” With that, Levi turned and headed home. His chest felt unnecessarily tight and his eyes stung, but he was determined not to feel like this again.

 

Eren stared at Levi, not able to say anything as the other boy walked off without giving Eren a chance to say anything. He wanted to cry. He didn’t know what to do with himself. He knew damn well he wouldn’t be able to get that out of his head and instead of walking back inside to change out of his clothes so that he wouldn’t get sick, he watched Levi walk down the street and disappear out of sight around the corner.

 

A part of him wanted to go after Levi but remembering the last time that he did that, he decided against it and made his way back inside to hide himself in his room and think over everything that was conflicting his brain.

 

\---

 

“I really shouldn’t be here.” The words were out of his mouth the moment he saw who came in after him. 

 

“Sit.” Hanji ordered and Erwin immediately grabbed Levi’s hands, pulling them behind his back and pinning him to the couch.

 

“Come on, Erwin let me go.” Levi whined and struggled. Unfortunately, the blonde was much stronger and bigger than Levi.

 

“No way, Neither one of us have seen you since you were suspended. We missed you.” He pulled Levi onto his lap while keeping a good grip on him. 

 

“I’m not letting you go until you say you’ll stay, at least until midnight,” Erwin leaned forward so his chest was pressed into Levi’s back, “After all, you don’t want Eren to see us like this do you?” He whispered in Levi’s ear slowly with a smirk.

 

“Fine. Whatever. Fuck off. Who gave you permission to touch me?” He grumbled, vaulting forward as Erwin let go with a laugh. 

 

“You’re so predictable.” Levi glared at him and went to push himself off of the floor when he suddenly made eye contact with Eren, cheeks flushing red. Shit. Did he see that?

 

Wait, he didn’t care. Yeah. It didn’t matter if Eren saw him or not. Yeah.

Eren walked into Hanji’s house with his friends, the music already loud and the bass was shaking practically the whole house. He was always surprised that her parents always let her throw these crazy parties, or they didn’t know about them. He was going to go with the latter of the two. 

 

Sasha had her arms hooked with his so that she wouldn’t lose him and she would be able to pull him to the dance floor whenever she wanted. The moment he walked into the living room, his eyes were drawn to a taller boy that sat on the couch and he instantly recognized that it was Erwin. 

 

Eren watched as Erwin pulled Levi’s arms behind him and gripped Levi’s hips as he sat Levi in his lap. He watched the whole thing, a smirk covering Erwin’s face as he whispered things into Levi’s ear. Levi didn’t seem too happy about it, snapping something back and fell forward onto the ground. Erwin’s smirk grew even more as his eyes caught Eren’s and he winked. 

 

He couldn’t help but smile a little at the blush that covered Levi’s cheeks. When Levi’s eyes met his, he felt his breath catch in his throat and he wanted to wave, his smile staying on his face and before he could wave, Sasha dragged him to the dance floor to dance much like the Halloween party. 

 

“You’re an ass.” Levi snapped and he quickly found himself sulking in the corner, watching others dance and giggle amongst themselves, occasionally catching glimpses of Eren in those tight black clothes he so loved to see him in. It wasn’t his fault Eren looked so good, although he wished the brunet was grinding against him instead of some girl. Gross. Honestly he found women pretty gross. Vaginas were scary as fuck.

 

While Eren danced with his friends, he often found himself looking for Levi to see if he could find Levi anywhere. At some point he did, noticing that he was sulking in a corner by himself. Eren had plenty of time during the break since he had last seen Levi to think everything over.  _ Everything _ . Of course, he had to call up Armin and Sasha, asking them for advice for what he should do and what some things meant. 

 

At some point, Sasha had left to go get a drink and Eren found himself walking away from the crowd and towards the wall where there weren’t many people. He was a few feet away from Levi but decided against the little voice in his head that told him to walk over and talk to him. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his face, thankful that he had worn his contacts to the party instead of his glasses. 

 

Levi couldn’t help but check Eren out in his peripheral vision. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to tap that. He certainly did. Granted, it went to a much deeper and more emotional level for Levi, but he’d been feeling a little horny as of late. 

 

Of course, he wasn’t going to say anything to Eren. He wasn’t even sure if Eren properly processed his confession.

 

Eren could feel Levi checking him out and he grinned. He had a plan for that night, he had made up his mind for what he wanted to do and no one could tell him to do otherwise. Eren stretched his arms above his head, making sure that his shirt lifted ever-so-slightly enough to show a bit of skin and he turned a little to bend over and tie his shoe. He knew what he was doing. He was being a dick, but he had to be. 

 

Once he was sure that Levi had plenty of time to check out his ass, Eren stood up and glanced over his shoulder and caught Levi’s eyes travel up his body to meet his eyes instantly. Eren’s grin grew bigger and he winked before walking away to find his friends. 

 

“Little fucking troll.” Levi huffed under his breath and forced himself to tear his eyes away as he felt his pants tent slightly, shifting just enough to conceal it. It wasn’t fair the way Eren was teasing him and it made him wonder if Erwin had somehow slipped him some drugs or something.

 

After Eren went and grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it, he went looking for his friends only to find that they were all busy doing something. With a sigh, he headed back to the living room to the one person he knew that he could find. With a smile, he approached Levi as though nothing happened and handed him the extra water bottle that Eren had grabbed but had yet to open. 

 

“Come dance with me.” Eren grinned, stuffing his hands in his back pockets and he rocked back and forth on his heels.

 

Levi cleared his throat, unwilling to admit he had a boner from checking Eren out only a few minutes before.

 

“Uh, no thanks. I don’t dance.” He looked down at his feet. Why was Eren asking him anyways? He knew Levi didn’t really dance. Lap dancing didn’t count either.

 

“C’mon, please?” Eren grabbed his hand and stuck out his bottom lip in a slight pout. “It’ll be fun. I don’t dance either.” He smiled reassuringly, bouncing slightly on his feet to show his excitement that he wanted to dance with the other boy. 

 

“I…” he bit his bottom lip nervously, chewing on it with contemplation, “fine,” He agreed. Honestly he wouldn’t have been able to refused Eren no matter what and he hesitantly stepped away from the wall towards Eren.

 

Eren smiled excitedly and linked their fingers to pull him to the dance floor but kept to the edge so that they could escape if needed before being sucked into the crowd. He stepped close to him, closer than he probably should but he didn’t care. It was almost midnight and people were starting to count down but Eren wanted to continue dancing and stay as close to Levi as he could before going through with his plan of pulling Levi outside. He still had a few minutes. 

 

The closer the clock drew to midnight, the more nervous and uncertain Levi became. He honestly was enjoying his dance with Eren, loved the eye contact they maintained for god know’s how long, loved this moment that he knew couldn’t last but that he would keep close for a long time.

 

Levi wished he could be the one kissing Eren when that ball dropped, but knew he should probably distance himself once itt got too close so as to not make Eren uncomfortable. 

 

“Are you thirsty?” He asked, looking for a polite reason to excuse himself as people began their incoherent shouting of numbers.

 

Eren smiled, the counting being his cue to grab Levi’s hand yet again and pulled him outside where it was a lot quieter and colder rather than the hot sauna that was Hanji’s living room. 

 

“It was really hot in there.” Eren lied, glancing at Levi and had yet to drop his hand. “I hope you don’t mind that I dragged you along out here with me. I didn’t want to watch the fireworks alone. It’s always more fun with someone special.”

 

Levi was surprised at the sudden change in location but he nodding, dropping Eren’s hand like a hot potato. He was scared of making him uncomfortable. 

 

“Oh, no it’s fine. I’ve never seen the fireworks.” He admitted, looking down with a blush. He knew in about thirty seconds everyone inside would find someone to glue themselves to. 

 

He was counting down in his head, excitement and anticipation running through his body. Eren could hear everyone shouting the numbers as loud as they could. He turned to Levi, looking at him and observed his face, taking in every detail that he could. The moonlight looked nice on his skin, some of the fireworks starting early because people were assholes and didn’t know how to count. 

 

_ Ten.  _

 

_ Nine.  _

 

“Hey, Levi.” Eren spoke up. 

 

_ Eight. _

 

_ Seven.  _

 

_ Six.  _

 

The other didn’t say anything and just glanced at Eren. He took the opportunity to step as close he could, leaving no space between their bodies. 

 

_ Five. _

 

He reached up with his hand to cup Levi's cheek, his hand shaking slightly. 

 

_ Four. _

 

He brushed his thumb over Levi's cheek, tilting the other boy's face to look up at Eren.

 

_ Three.  _

 

_ Two.  _

 

_ One. _

 

When everyone screamed zero and the fireworks went off was when Eren pulled Levi into kiss that set fireworks off in Eren’s stomach and spread throughout his entire body.  

 

The contact took Levi by surprise. From the gentle way Eren cupped his face to the way he pressed their lips together. Something went off in Levi, the feeling of his stomach tumbling around within him growing the longer they stayed pressed together. It was a long time before they pulled apart and Levi gazed up at him with a soft expression.

 

Eren was breathless when they pulled away, a smile spreading over his lips as well and he pressed their foreheads together, their bodies pressed together and he brushed his thumb over Levi’s bottom lip. 

 

“Does that count as my first kiss?”

 

“Yeah. It does.” He replied, wrapping his arms around eren’s waist and pulling him into a hug with his head resting on Eren’s chest. He felt warm, comfortable, and happy just like that.

 

“Happy new year, Eren.” He whispered and pulled away just enough to steal another soft kiss.

 

He had a feeling it was going to be a good year.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of your support! To answer the biggest concern in the comments; yes we are going to finish this fic. Without a doubt. It's been slow due to personal issues and life has been busy with work and school.
> 
> If you have time or questions feel free to comment or send us an ask on our tumblrs. Links are in the end comments.

Eren couldn’t explain what he was feeling. Well, he could, but all it would be is girlish squealing and nonstop babbling about the events of New Year’s Eve. He couldn’t get it out of his head. It was ridiculous. The two had been practically glued together for the rest of the night, most of it spent outside watching the fireworks go off and they kept each other company. It was nice. _Really_ _nice._ It was definitely something that Eren would store in his memories. 

 

It made Eren all warm and fuzzy inside and he honestly didn’t know the last time he had ever felt like this for someone, or if he ever even had. He liked it when Levi held his hand when they went inside, their fingers linking and Levi keeping Eren close to him. Eren couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. 

 

He and Levi had texted nonstop for the rest of break up until school started—they didn’t want to risk the fact of getting caught by his father if they hung out together. He didn't want to get sent to a private school. If he was bullied now, he couldn’t even imagine what it would be like at rich private school. Not only rich, but religious and God knows what would happen to him if they found out he was at least  _ bi.  _ He honestly wasn’t sure himself.

 

But, God knows what would happen if his  _ father  _ found out. 

 

He didn’t want to think about that. 

 

The morning of the first day back from break, Eren was awake before his alarm went off. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to see Levi again. So many good things had happened; he knew that they definitely were more than friends but they weren’t officially dating.  _ Yet. _ Eren was hoping that it would happen soon. The only problem of that being that he was much too scared to make the first move when it came to asking Levi out officially. 

 

Once he arrived at school, he texted Levi that he would be in the library waiting for him and he walked to his locker as quickly as possible to exchange books before heading up to wait. When he found a table, he put his music in and yawned before pulling out his sketchbook and began to doodle. He brought his knees to his chest, resting his notebook on his lap and tried to hide from people who walked by. He was never this secret with his drawings. He often liked to let people look in curiosity, but this time because he was drawing something— _ someone _ specific, he wanted to keep it to himself.

 

Levi had never been this happy before. Nothing was more satisfying than knowing he could be next to Eren and that he might actually have a chance. The dating scene had never appealed much to him until now. Now he was rushing to the library practically as fast as his feet could carry him without drawing too much attention to himself in order to see Eren. 

 

He had been up constantly the past few nights, drawing everything and anything. It was rare for a good mood like this to come to him and was definitely a nice contrast to the depression he’d been feeling.

 

He smiled widely as the brunet appeared within his line of sight and didn’t hesitate to walk over. “Hey.” He greeted Eren and ran his fingers through his hair.

 

Eren smiled and looked up as he felt a hand in his hair. “Hey.” Instinctively, he leaned into Levi’s touch slightly and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “How’ve you been?”

 

Levi shrugged. “Pretty good. Could be worse.” He couldn’t quite admit how amazingly upbeat he’d been as of late. “How are you?”

 

“I’m good. Dad wasn’t home yet this morning so I didn’t have to worry about him harrassing me about going to school so early.” Eren flicked his hair out of his eyes so he could get a better look at Levi and smiled once more. It still gave him butterflies to think about the New Year’s Eve party and he still got butterflies when Levi’s fingers brushed through his hair gently. 

 

“That’s good. What are you drawing?” He asked curiously, peering over Eren’s head. Eren wasn’t usually secretive with his art so that made him extra curious.

 

A light pink blush dusted over Eren’s cheeks and he glanced down at the notebook in his lap. “Uh…” He internally debated with himself whether or not he should tell Levi and let out a sigh as he dropped his knees and allowed his notebook to be more visible. “You.” 

 

“Really? Do you need a model?” He grinned and examined the page, continuing to run his fingers through Eren’s hair. It was really soft.

 

Eren’s eyes fell closed for a moment as Levi ran his fingers through his hair. It was calming and he could probably fall asleep if he kept doing it. He leaned his head back, resting against Levi’s stomach and he looked up at the other boy. “I have you in my head enough already.” But he definitely wouldn’t be objecting Levi if he did want to model for him. 

 

That surprised Levi a little but he couldn’t say that didn’t make him happy, a triumphant and warm feeling filling his chest. “Really?” He asked softly. 

 

“Yeah. Of course. How could I not?” He reached up for Levi’s hand, playing with Levi’s fingers a little. “Especially after New Years.” 

 

“Me too.” Levi intertwined their fingers together, giving Eren’s hand a gentle squeeze. He couldn’t help but feel immensely happy at that and honestly right then he wanted to kiss Eren again.

 

Eren lowered his feet to the ground and placed his notebook on the table before shifting in the chair to face Levi. “You managed to even beat Hanji and Erwin here.” He laughed a little, smiling up at the other boy while he continued to play with his fingers. “And my friends too. At least we got a little bit of silence.” He reached with his other hand to pick a fuzz off of Levi’s shirt, brushing away a few other specks.

 

“You could come over to my place after school if you wanted. Kenny won’t be home until closer to dinner.” He caught Eren’s hand, pulling it up to his face and brushing a few light kisses over the back of it.

 

“You mean… to hang out or like a date?” Eren asked shyly, avoiding looking at Levi in fear of the look he might receive. Before Levi could answer, they were both cut off by the sounds of Eren’s friends. They watched Levi kiss the back of Eren’s hand with a certain gentleness they didn’t know the scary child possessed before Sasha skipped over excitedly and wrapped her arms around Eren’s neck tightly, squealing in his ear. 

 

“That was _so_ _cute!_ ” She shook him a little and he pried himself away, leaning back into Levi as he turned to watch the rest of his friends approach them.

 

He kept his hand in Levi’s, linking their fingers as he glared at Sasha. “Jesus, are you trying to suffocate me? What happened to manners?”

 

Levi raised an eyebrow but he didn’t move away, if anything he moved a little closer to Eren. He didn’t care if the whole world knew that he liked Eren and wanted to be with him. In fact, he almost welcomed it.

 

“Levi!” Levi groaned at the familiar squeal that announced Hanji’s arrival. How the fuck did they all know Eren and Levi would be in the library? It was annoying. He wanted to spend time with Eren before school.   
  


“Go away, Hanji.” He groaned.

 

Eren took that as a cue to stand up, shoving his notebook in his backpack and he slung it over his shoulder before taking Levi’s hand again. “We’ll see you guys later.” He didn’t give time for any of them to protest and he pulled Levi out of the library.

 

“I didn’t even tell them that I would be in the library.” Eren said, loosely lacing his fingers between Levi’s and walked closer. “But, then again, we meet in the library every morning. But Hanji I was not expecting.” He glanced at Levi with a little smile. “And you obviously didn’t want anything to do with Hanji.”

 

“I just want to spend some time with you right now.” He admitted, a faint blush dusting his cheeks as he glanced away from the brunet, the sentiment a little embarrassing to say aloud.

 

Eren blushed at that, smiling even wider. “Me too.” He swung their hands a little as they walked, trying to find a place where they could be alone together for a little while longer until class started for the day. He enjoyed walking around with Levi, hand in hand. They gained a few strange looks from other students that they passed but nothing was said. Eren had to guess it was because it was Levi and Levi was the scariest kid in the school.

 

The bell rang, signaling that they needed to head to first period and Eren let out a small groan. “I’ll see you in art.” He said as Levi walked him to his first period. They stopped outside the door, Eren leaning in to kiss Levi’s cheek with a little smile before giving Levi’s hand a squeeze and reluctantly let go to head into his classroom. 

 

Levi grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a swift surprise kiss with a grin. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

 

Eren’s face quickly turned a dark red crimson color as Levi pulled him into a surprise kiss but he couldn't’ help the small smile that fell over his face. He knew he should probably be paying attention in class but instead he continued his sketching Levi throughout all his classes up until art. 

 

He skipped in happily, sitting in the chair that was next to Levi’s instead of the assigned seat that Mrs. Huber gave him. She gave him a smile, a strange look crossing her face when she noticed that he sat in a different seat but didn’t say anything. 

 

Levi walked in moments later and sat next to Eren. “Sitting with me today?” He smiled softly and took his bag off, digging through it quietly.

 

“Well, only if that’s okay?” Eren asked innocently, batting his eyelashes as Levi once the other boy had turned to face him. “I like being around you so of course I’m going to sit with you.” He poked Levi’s cheek with the end of his pencil, scooting his chair closer to him.

 

“Of course.” Levi chuckled and scooted his chair just a little closer to Eren, flipping open his sketchbook with a sigh.

 

Levi was thankfully close enough for Eren to lean over and lay his head on his shoulder which is exactly what he did. He focused on his sketching, occasionally glancing at Levi’s sketchbook. 

 

“Were you the one that bought those colored pencils for me?” Eren asked out of the blue, the thought popping into his head during the middle of class. It was random but Levi seemed to be the only person who would have gotten him the correct pencils.

 

“What colored pencils?” He asked casually, pulling out his pencils and continuing where he left off. Of course he knew what Eren was talking about, but a piece of him didn’t want to admit it was him for some reason.

 

“You know what colored pencils I’m talking about.” He nudged Levi with his elbow gently, shifting his head so that he rested his chin on his shoulder, watching Levi work on where he had left off in his notebook. 

 

“Nope.” He lied, enjoying the feeling of Eren’s closeness. It was nice. It was like something he’d never felt before. It was warm and it was as if there was a swarm of butterflies in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to scoop Eren into his lap and hold him close.

 

“You’re a bad liar.” Eren laughed softly and looped his arm with Levi’s so he could press himself closer. “You were the one that put them on my desk. At least I’m pretty sure that you did.” Eren hated that he didn’t know if it was Levi for sure. But he had a sneaking suspicion that it was. 

 

Mrs. Huber walked around the classroom, making sure that everyone was working on what they were supposed to be working on and she slowed as she neared the two boys in the back. A little smile came to her face as she noticed Eren pressed into Levi’s side, watching the older boy doodle in his notebook. She stopped in front of the table.

 

“Are you two working on the assignment?” She asked despite the fact that she already knew the answer. 

 

“Of course.” Levi lied, a small smile on his face as he peered up at her. She knew he was lying and he knew she knew. But Levi was honestly in too good of a mood to really care. “What else would I be working on?”

 

She had never seen him smile before. Granted, it was more than likely because he had a boyfriend now. “Well, you do have a tendency of not listening in class.”

 

Eren snorted, biting his lip so he didn’t laugh out loud and he nodded in agreement. 

 

“I always listen. I listen better if I’m not looking.” He shrugged and looked back down at his sketchbook. That wasn’t necessarily a lie either.

 

She didn’t say anything else and smiled at Eren before continuing her walking. Eren giggled one more time and kissed Levi’s cheek before pulling away to grab his own sketchbook and flipped to a clean page. He leaned back into Levi as he sketched, snaking his hand to Levi’s page and drew a small smiley face in the corner.

 

Levi paused, raising an eyebrow. Why was Eren so fucking cute? 

 

“Work on your assignment.” He teased with a chuckle. It was nice being able to smile at Eren and to be close to him like this. He realized he had thoughts about Eren being cute and about how much he liked the brunet for a while. He just hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself.

 

“So, uh, about earlier… before we were interrupted…” He started awkwardly, his cheeks turning a faint pink color.

 

Eren raised his head to look over at him. “Like, this morning earlier? In the library?”

 

“Yeah, about after school...”

 

“Oh, yeah. You never answered my question.” Eren blushed a little but didn’t bother looking away. He’d much rather admire Levi’s blush that dusted his cheeks. “You wanted me to come over to your house or was there something else?”

 

“What if we went to a movie or something too?” He suggested a little nervously, running his hand over the nape of his neck.

 

Eren smiled brightly. “Yeah, I’d love to.” If Eren was alone, he would be squealing like a little girl in excitement. 

 

“Cool. Want to meet up at my locker after school?”

 

“You know, I would but I have no idea where you locker is.” He grinned sheepishly and found himself reaching over to replace Levi’s hand at the nape of his neck with his own, letting his fingers comb through his undercut softly. “And besides, we have our last class together. We can just go together after class.”

 

“Okay, yeah, sure.” Levi found himself blush profusely at this point and he looked down at his hands. It felt nice, the way Eren was combing his fingers through Levi’s hair. 

 

Eren was excited for the day to already be over. The two of them made time as much as they could throughout the day to sit with each other, even during lunch when Hanji dragged Erwin and Levi over to sit with Eren and his friends. He loved the way Levi softly massaged his head, running his fingers through Eren’s hair once again as he stood behind him during lunch. 

 

It seemed to take forever until the bell rang, signaling that class was over. He let out a sigh of relief and rushed to shove his things into his backpack and told Armin that he had some things that he wanted to take care of after school so he wouldn’t be walking with them. 

 

“Are you ready?” He asked Levi once his friends had left. Hopefully they’d be able to beat Hanji and Erwin out of the classroom while they were still talking with their teacher. If Hanji found out that they were going on a date (at least that’s what Eren assumed it was) then she would never leave them alone. And neither would Sasha. 

 

“Let’s go.” Levi grabbed Eren’s hand and rushed out of the classroom, getting them out of the school as fast as possible and out of sight. 

“If Hanji saw us we never would have gotten away.” He chuckled.

 

Eren smiled and nodded, linking their fingers together. “She probably would have wanted to come with.” He was excited as they neared Levi’s car, his heart skipping a beat whenever he caught Levi smiling at him and sneaking a small peek at him. 

 

“Your car is nice. I’ve never actually seen it before.”

 

“It’s only been like a month since I got it. I honestly don’t use it much.” He opened the door for Eren, shutting it and climbing into the driver’s side. “Let’s hurry before they catch on.” He chuckled and started it. It really was a nice car. Honestly, he only had a license for a few weeks since he’d turned 18 on Christmas.

 

Eren pulled out his phone as they made their way out of the parking lot. “Let’s see what movies are playing.” There wasn’t really anything very exciting playing at the moment. But he still wanted to go to a movie with Levi. He sighed a little as he looked at the times. 

 

“Nothing really exciting is playing right now.” He listed off a few movies, glancing at Levi for any signs of approval or disapproval. They settled on a movie that seemed at least half decent, Eren reading some reviews and the summary of the movie. He texted his mom, letting her know that he and Levi would be out for a while but that he would be home before dark and shoved his phone into his pocket. 

 

“Perfect.” They chattered quietly to themselves on the way there and Levi bought their tickets once they were there.

 

“Do you want popcorn? I’ve only been here like once before.” Levi admitted. Kenny had started giving him an allowance, it was nice.

 

Eren swung their hands back and forth as they walked into the movie theatre, looking over at Levi. He ignored the few strange looks they earned and walked a bit closer to him, Levi giving him a feeling of safety. “No, I’m okay. I don’t have any money anyway and I don’t want you to paying for everything.”

 

“Don’t worry about money. If you want something just tell me.” He followed Eren in and let the brunet pick where they sat. He wasn’t really sure what to say or do.

 

“Well…” Eren said as they made their way to their seats. The theatre was empty and Eren loved it even more. Then they wouldn’t have to worry about annoying people and children screaming in the middle of the movie. “There is something, but you can’t buy it at concessions.” He turned to look at Levi with an innocent smile and inched a little closer.

 

“What is it?” He smiled and sat back, looking at Eren expectantly.

Eren leaned forward, pressing his lips to Levi’s in a soft, gentle kiss before pulling away. “Just a kiss.” He giggled a little, smiling at Levi adoringly.

 

“Just one?” Levi grinned.

 

“I can have more than one?” The brunet batted his eyelashes innocently, teeth biting his bottom lip a little as his eyes glanced to Levi’s lips and then back up to his eyes.

 

Levi couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on Eren’s lips before leaning forward and capturing them with his own. Eren was way too cute for his own fucking good. His hand came up to cup Eren’s cheek gently and it was a long moment before he pulled away with a smile.

 

Eren leaned into Levi’s touch as his hand cupped his cheek and he could feel a blush riding high on his cheeks from the long kiss. He let out a small sigh of content and he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he kissed Levi again, his hand finding it’s way to the back of Levi’s neck and he combed through his undercut softly like he had during art.

 

He officially decided that kissing Levi was his new favorite activity.

 

They kissed for what seemed to be forever, their lips slotting together perfectly. It was slow and gentle. Eren loved it. His first makeout session was in a movie theatre with the hottest guy in school. His lip piercings were definitely a lot of fun. They pulled away breathless, Eren pressing their foreheads together with a smile and his hand cradled his jaw, thumb dragging over the other boy’s bottom lip softly. 

 

“Your piercings are fun.” He grinned, pressing the pad of his thumb to one gently.

 

“You think?” Levi chuckled softly, running his thumb over Eren’s lip. “I wasn’t paying attention to them.” Honestly, he was way too focused on Eren.

 

Eren’s tongue darted out to wet his lips and he nodded. “They don’t feel weird to you? Or do you just not feel them?”

 

“I’m just used to them, I don’t think about them.” He admitted, stealing another soft kiss.

 

“Should we just leave the movie early and go back to my place?”

 

“The movie is kinda boring.” Eren nodded, capturing Levi in another kiss. He couldn’t get enough. “And you said Kenny won’t be home until dinner.” He grinned, excitement and slight arousal running through his body. 

 

“Come on.” He grinned, pressing their lips together as they stood up and taking Eren’s hand. He didn’t waste any time getting them to his house either. He just really wanted to hold Eren and couldn’t do that in some dumb movie theater.

 

Eren kissed his hand as they arrived to Levi’s house, making their way up to Levi’s room in a hurry. Isabel ran up to Eren’s legs, rubbing against them as she meowed and purred. He smiled and bent over, picking her up carefully and she pawed at his face. Farlan simply looked up from where he was curled up on Levi’s pillow and meowed when the other boy walked over to him. 

 

“Do they just sit in your room all day and wait for you to get back?” Eren asked curiously, scratching behind Isabel’s ear while she purred.

 

“Pretty much. I leave the door open but they usually stick around in here. Izzy gets curious, but Farlan likes my bed.” He chuckled as he sat down on his bed and reached out, scratching behind Farlan’s ears gently and was rewarded with an approving purr.

 

Eren smiled and set Isabel on the ground. She trotted over to Levi and meowed at him before jumping up on the bed. “I never would have thought that the scariest kid in school would have  such a soft spot for animals.” He walked over to the bed and sat criss-cross, smiling at Levi. “It's cute.”

 

“They are my babies.” Levi smiled as Izzy stepped in his lap, rubbing against him and purring profusely, insisting that he pay her the most attention. It was cute but she was shedding orange fur everywhere. 

 

“Should we watch a movie here then?” He asked, looking up at Eren.

 

“Yeah.” Eren stmiled. “Unless you want to go downstairs?” He kissed Levi's cheek as he reached over to pet Farlan, only to receive a hiss instead as he swatted his paw out. “Ow.” He hissed and frowned, extracting his hand and glanced a the scratch on his hand.

 

The cat simply looked at Eren uninterested before licking his paw clean as if touching Eren would poison him. He could have sworn the cat gave him a glare as well and Eren scooted closer to Levi. “I don’t think he likes me,” he whispered to Levi. “He scratched me. Do you have any band aids?” He stood up, grabbing his back to rummage through it to see if he had any spare bandages lying around. He had learned to keep extra ones in his backpack so that he wouldn’t have to make so many frequent trips to the nurse.

 

“He’s jealous because you have so much of my attention.” Levi chuckled and opened his top drawer, pulling out a pack of bandages. “Come here.” 

 

Eren walked over, examining the three red lines, one of which was bleeding. “I just need one I think.”

 

“Let me see.” He inspected the scratches. “I have a big one that will cover all of them.” He pulled it out, carefully placing it on.

 

“There. All better.” He smiled a little bit.

 

Eren kept his eyes on Levi as he gently placed the bandage over his scratches. He adored Levi’s smile, seeing that it was a rare occurrence but the more they were together, the more it made an appearance and it never failed to make Eren smile himself. 

 

“Thank you.” He leaned over to place a small kiss on Levi’s cheek before turning to look at the art that hung over his desk.

 

“Shall we watch a movie then?” He set Eren’s hand down and rubbed between Isabel’s ears. Ignoring Farlan since he had scratched Eren.

 

“What movie?” Eren asked and made his way back to the bed, sitting on the opposite end of Farlan. 

 

“Let’s go downstairs, Kenny has a bunch of movies.”

 

“Oh, okay.” He smiled and followed Levi downstairs, Isabel trotting after them and jumped on the couch, meowing at them as Eren stood awkwardly. “Should we watch an action or comedy or horror or a romance?” He itched to reach out and take Levi's hand but refrained from it for a moment and instead fidgeted with his hands. 

 

He took a moment to watch Levi browse through the movies and he let his eyes rake over the other boy's form, taking in the way his skinny jeans clung to his legs. Eren didn't know he was so into legs until seeing Levi's.

 

“I’ll watch anything for the most part. Pick a movie that looks interesting to you.” He looked back at Eren and stretched, “I’m going to go put on something more comfortable,” Levi announced before heading up the stair into his room, pulling on some sweatpants and a white tank top.

 

Eren browsed the movies, Isabel rubbing against his leg. He picked a random movie, knowing that he wouldn't be paying much attention anyway. He sat criss cross on the couch, waiting almost nervously for Levi to come back downstairs to join him.

 

Levi returned quickly, Farlan following hot on his heels and taking his place next to Levi as Levi sat close to Eren. “Ready?” He grabbed the remote, skipping through the bullshit previews to the menu and then hitting play. He wasn’t too interested in the movie, however. Eren was much more interesting.

 

Eren smiled, giving a nod and leaned into Levi. Even went as far to lay his head on Levi's shoulder. He looped their arms together so that they could be closer and let out content sigh. 

 

"Your tattoos are really hot,” he murmured as his eyes trailed over the beautiful ink that covered Levi's skin. “Gonna make it really hard to focus on the movie I didn't pay attention to picking out.”

 

“Have you not seen my tattoos before?” Levi mused, glancing down at Eren and subtly snuggling into him. This was nice. He was so warm and cute. Honestly he could spend days with Eren just for that.

 

“Didn’t even know you had them.” He smiled at Levi, leaning up a little to press a small kiss to his cheek. “They look… fun.”

 

They didn’t actually pay attention to the movie, there wasn’t really much of a point for them to put it on other than random background noise. Their lips had reconnected again for round two of their make out session in the movie theatre. Eren’s hands found Levi’s hair and he played with the hair of his undercut, honestly way too into Levi and his scent and  _ everything  _ for him to even realize that the front door had opened. 

 

“Levi! I’m home— _ oh.  _ Didn’t realize you’d be busy otherwise I would have taken the long way home.”

 

Eren felt all the color drain instantly from his face at the sound of Levi’s Uncle Kenny walking through the door and he pushed himself away from Levi despite how much he didn’t want to. His face was a dark red and he wished in that moment for the couch to open up and swallow him whole so that he could escape the little knowing and smug grin that rested on Kenny’s face.

 

A scowl crossed Levi’s face as he settled back into the couch, glaring at his uncle. 

 

“Screw off, cock block.” He murmured quietly under his breath. He refused to move away completely though and put a comforting arm around Eren.

 

Even just being close was nice at least as he turned his attention back to the movie.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Please leave kudos if you enjoyed it and comments are much appreciated and always responded to!  
> This is going to be a multi-chaptered fic and we have a lot of plans for it as well, so be looking forward to that if you enjoyed it! ;)
> 
> our tumblrs:  
> http://thy-undertaker.tumblr.com/  
> http://queenofrulers.tumblr.com/
> 
> Based on this prompt:  
> http://ererishippingismyair.tumblr.com/post/104801864336/okayokayokay-but-what-if-levi-and-eren-were-in


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